Dr. Wang’s interpretation:

Type 4: “neglectful parenting” = low care and low protection

Also known as: “Ghost parents”— They cast the seed in a dry, forgotten soil.

You may have grown up alone where you have few recollection of an adult checking if you were okay. There were no rules, no support, no guidance. Parents were absent, uninvolved, inattentive and emotionally distant. This is known as neglectful parenting, defined by low care and low protection.

In that emptiness, you may have learned to rely only on yourself. Some grow wild and resilient, others remain quietly unsure if they were ever meant to thrive. You may have difficulty trusting others due to fear of abandonment. Asking for help may also be difficult as you learned early it wouldn’t arrive.

As an adult, you may struggle with emotional regulation, self-worth, or forming healthy bonds. Connection can feel unfamiliar—desired but distant. Suppressing emotions and being numbly detached may have become survival mechanism. Attachment insecurity: Difficulty trusting others; fear of abandonment.

Children raised this way often feel invisible, even to themselves. You may crave connection but not know how to form or sustain healthy relationships. And yet, the longing for care never truly disappears. You may still be searching for the water you never received.

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    • Wilhelm, K., Niven, H., Parker, G., & Hadzi-Pavlovic, D. (2005). The stability of the Parental Bonding Instrument over a 20-year period. Psychological Medicine, 35(3), 387–393.

    • Kitamura, T., Suzuki, T., Sugawara, M., & Tanaka, T. (2009). Predicting neuroticism and extroversion from the parental bonding instrument in a Japanese sample: A structural equation modeling approach. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 50(1), 86–92.

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    • Hussain, M., Iqbal, S., Khan, S., Hamdani, A. R., & Sindhu, Z. M. (2023). Examining the long-term effects of authoritative parenting on the development of adolescents’ self-esteem and emotional regulation. Journal of Population Therapeutics and Clinical Pharmacology, 30(18), 1015–1031.

    • Parental bonding and adult attachment style: The relationship between perceptions of parenting and adult attachment style in a Japanese sample. (2016). International Journal of Women’s Health and Wellness, 2(016).