What Does 'Failure to Launch' Mean?
At Bridge the Gap, we often hear from parents and guardians that their adult child is having a hard time adjusting to adulthood. It’s possible that they are suffering from “failure to launch,” an increasingly popular way to describe the difficulties that some people face when transitioning to greater independence and responsibility.
While failure to launch isn’t technically a syndrome, it is a real problem that affects many U.S. families. A 2020 study from Pew Research found that 52 percent of young adults resided with both or one of their parents during the month of July. Additionally, the share of young adults living with their parents in 2020 was higher than in any previous measurement.
Below are some signs that your child might be struggling with failure to launch. Keep in mind that if your child is dealing with other underlying issues - substance abuse, mental illness, trauma - you will have to address these first.
Signs that May Indicate a Failure to Launch
Individuals with failure to launch struggle to leave their parents’ homes in order to begin their own lives. It’s often triggered by a negative event or experience, but it doesn’t have to be. There are many cases of failure to launch with no known cause.
The signs of failure to launch in young people are:
Low motivation
No direction in life
Little ambition
Inability to take responsibility
Procrastination about the next steps in life
Difficulty managing stress
Trouble getting or maintaining a job
Mental health issues
Stress management issues
Failure to Launch Risk Factors
There is no single reason for why some young adults have trouble being responsible and independent. Usually it has to do with a combination of factors, which we’ll cover below. If you can identify one or several of these issues as being part of the problem, make sure your child receives adequate support.
Helicopter parenting
A helicopter parent is one who constantly hovers over their child. They regularly insert themselves into their child’s life, preventing them from blossoming into their own person. They also engage in harmful enabling behaviors by doing things their child is capable of.
When parents helicopter regularly, it can cause their child to have low self esteem and low confidence. Then, when it’s time to venture out into the real world, they lack the skills needed to be productive, responsible members of society.
Substance abuse
Having a substance abuse problem will prevent a person from growing into their full potential. But parents can help by setting boundaries and following through with consequences. Unfortunately, many parents struggle to do this because they want to protect their child.
What ends up happening is that the parents enable the addiction by paying their child’s way, making excuses for their behavior and not placing any expectations on them. While this might appear to be the best way to handle an addict, it’s not. All this does is allow the addiction to continue.
Mental illness
Mental health disorders like anxiety, depression and PTSD can also hold a person back from launching into adulthood. That’s because mental health problems cause a wide range of symptoms that interfere with healthy living. Without therapy and medication, the person might continue to have an irrational fear of the world and be overwhelmed to live it on their own.
Fortunately, mental illness responds well to treatment. Many people with mental health disorders are out there living active, well-balanced lives. Aside from new medications, behavioral therapies and stress management techniques are very effective at treating mental health problems.
Best Treatment Options for Failure to Launch
Identifying failure to launch is important. However, it’s not always easy to determine this. What happens if your child moves home after a difficult breakup. Is this failure to launch? What if your child is having trouble keeping steady employment? Are they unlucky or is it something more?
The best thing to do is speak with a therapist. Sometimes people need to move back home until they get back on their feet, but it shouldn’t be a long term arrangement. You should be seeing your child putting their life back together, working or going to school and taking on responsibility. If they’re not, it’s a problem.
Get Support for Failure to Launch
Bridge the Gap offers therapeutic services that help clients live their lives effectively. Some of the services we offer include parent mentoring, supportive companioning and therapeutic mentoring. Our goal is to help clients develop the skills they need to live productive and full lives. To speak with a member from our team, contact us today.