Abstract

The present study examined the impact of separation anxiety on the vulnerability of children without parental care. Parenting is no doubt one of the most tedious, diverse, and complex jobs to execute, and when it goes wrong, it affects society deeply. Parents are the first form of protection for their children, and when the roles are not executed, it tends to affect the child’s moral and psychological abilities. Separating children from their loved ones and/or familiar environments has a great impact on the developmental milestones of such children. Separation anxiety is a required distress-response to being separated from one’s caregivers during infancy, which is critical to the child’s emotional or psychological development. Regardless of the fact that some children develop coping strategies to regulate how they react to this distress, others hardly handle it, and it affects their behaviors and how they react to things. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) suggests that bringing up a child under the care of a parent or close relative is of great help to the child. However, children who are not privileged to have such opportunities are subjected to negligence and severe vulnerability. Some of the factors that contribute to child vulnerability include, but are not limited to, disability, parents’ educational level, and mental health status. Therefore, this commentary aims to investigate the previous empirical studies and other psychological implications and triggers of vulnerability in children without parents. It suggests that, apart from the physical and socio-economic challenges faced by children without parents, some psychological challenges (e.g., separation anxiety) predispose them to being vulnerable.

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