"When a predatory parent manipulates and conditions a child-teaching them to distrust, fear, or reject their protective parent-it is an intentional act to weaponize the child. The child becomes a secondary victim, not because they are less important but because the primary target is the adult victim."
"This malevolent harm being inflicted goes deeper-it systematically undermines the secure attachment a child has with a healthy, safe parent. I call this the malicious fracturing of attachment (MFA)."
"Attachment behaviors characterize humans 'from cradle to grave,' and both John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth maintained that attachment processes remain relevant to personality functioning across the entire lifespan."
"Therapists must support the protective parent in their efforts to reignite or fortify a secure attachment. This is no easy feat, since our clients are often actively living in their own trauma."
Children exposed to coercive control experience manipulation that leads them to distrust their protective parent, effectively weaponizing them. This dynamic, termed malicious fracturing of attachment, results in significant psychological harm. Attachment theory indicates that secure attachments can be disrupted and repaired throughout life. Therapists must assist protective parents in rebuilding these attachments, despite the challenges posed by the trauma they face. The predatory parent's actions create a complex environment where the protective parent must navigate their own trauma while striving to maintain their child's well-being.
Read at Psychology Today
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