Dysfunctional families: SIGNS, IMPACT & HOW TO COPE

Growing up in a dysfunctional family adversely impacts children’s socio-emotional development, health and well-being

- Nishiha J

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” — wrote Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy in the opening lines of his novel Anna Karenina.

The family is the fulcrum around which a child’s life revolves, shaping her values, character, socialization, inter-personal and relationship skills. Therefore when the family unit is dysfunctional, it adversely impacts children’s socio-emotional development, health and well-being. In particular, pre-teens and teenage children growing up in dysfunctional families are especially vulnerable.