Why Do Parents Abduct? Essay -- essays research papers

Why Do Parents Abduct? According to the U.S. Department of Justice, over 354,000 children are kidnapped by a parent each year in divorce custody disputes. Some of the children are recovered or returned quickly while others may be on the run for years. Unfortunately many of these children are never found. Generally, people are concerned with the traumatic effects of these events on the child involved. However, both the searching parent and the abductor have many pending issues with which to deal. Some people believe that children "kidnapped" by their own parents are the lucky ones. In fact, because revenge is often the driving force for these abductions, the child may become subject to physical, sexual and mental abuse. While "When Families Are Torn Apart," is written by Mary Morrissey, the majority of the article is quoted from Geoffrey Greif and Rebecca Hegar. In the article, Greif and Hegar explain how they attempted to fill in the gap of information about the trauma of long-term abduction. Their findings appear in the book When Parents Kidnap. Each parent, child, and abductor may deal with the kidnapping differently. For some it is very frightful and requires years of psychological evaluation to overcome. According to Greif and Hegar, abducted children develop extremely close bonds with their abductors. Often the abductors lie to the children about the other parent. They may say that the other parent does not want the child or is dead. The longer the child is away the harder it is for everyone involved. At these times, professional help is strongly suggested. Issues for Parent - their own feelings about the abduction - helping them to be able to care for the child - helping them to bring the whole family together - helping them to help readjust the other children - helping them to cope with any odd behavior that may be exhibited by the abducted child - developmental changes of the child Issues for Children - trust - sexual abuse - anti-social behavior - why the child thinks the abduction occurs - dealing with the length of the abduction and the time that they missed with the rest of their family - experiences during the abduction - they child may have been brainwashed by the abducting parent - whether or not she wants to return to the abductor - being scared about the chance of being abducted again - + many others Issues for Abdu... ...ence. You can hurt someone just as much emotionally as if you had stabbed them with a knife or cut off their arm. Just as applicable is that this is an extreme, and excessive end to a divorce dispute. What I found interesting about the reunification process in these cases is that they are often depicted in both movies and books as a joyful reunion. When if fact, the assimilation of an abducted child to the family that they have not seen in years is not always so smooth. I was appalled by the lack of assistance from the police and the ignorance of the courts. The idea that a parent would kill their own child and take their own life as well, solely to prevent their ex- spous e from being with the child is incomprehensible. Both of the articles were extremely informative. The techniques used to write the articles were equally effective, giving a different perspective on the stories. The possibility of recovering after an event as traumatic as abduction through psychological counseling is a welcomed and exciting idea. The course on "Introduction to Psychology" has opened my eyes to the extent that psychology can go to help make a difference in the lives of people everywhere.