Perceived Childhood Paternal Betrayal Trauma: The Impact to Attachment and Interpersonal Relationships as Adults

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore adult female perspectives of being abandoned by a father during their grade school years (between ages 6 and 12). Current research has indicated that parental abandonment or rejection creates anxious, avoidant, and insecure attachments into adulthood. Wounded attachment can significantly impact the ability to form healthy attachments as adults. Limited research is available on children between the ages of 6 to 12 on how betrayal trauma impacts the developmental stages, the sense-of-self, and the ability to form and maintain healthy attachments within relationships throughout adolescence and adulthood. In the current study 12 women who were abandoned by their fathers between the ages of 6 to 12 years old were interviewed. All participants experienced grief, unresolved trauma, and gained resilience. Those who were in therapy before the interview reported healthier relationships, whereas those who had not were struggling with feelings of resentment. Some of the participants had mothers who talked negatively about the fathers, which swayed the children to reject possible communication with their fathers in contrast to those who were not subjected to maternal negativity. All 12 participants experienced betrayal, with some also feeling stigma and inadequacy. Younger participants were unaware of the implications of abandonment, while older women (30s and 40s) who had had therapy were aware of their wounded attachments and others (in their 50s and 60s) had not been in therapy and were still experiencing hurt and resentment. Some of the participants overcompensated in relationships while others felt inferior and lacked self-worth. These findings are significant for trauma counseling education and trauma counselors to help clients heal from wounded attachments caused by betrayal trauma.