The Leavers, Deming is an abandoned child and then adopted. During his life, he has to figure out his true identity while facing his true self under a different culture. He is a rebel, with addiction problems. All of these are not only related to identity, being abandoned can also cause mental lasting mental issues to children just like Deming.

The first one that is very obvious is an abandoned child having poor coping strategies.(Audrey, 2017) People need to cope with pains or emotional changes in different ways. For the abandoned child living in a different environment, it’s hard for him to figure out what is a healthy way to cope with the pains and stress. As a result, gambling becomes his best option. There are multiple strategies but he chooses a way that’s not so wise. It shows that he does have poor coping strategies.

Also related to his gambling problem, abandoned children usually have compulsive behavior. (Audrey, 2017). His gambling problem is both addiction and compulsive behavior at the same time. By definition, compulsive behavior is the kind of insatiable urge to do something. Addiction is a need to do something to experience pleasure or remove discomfort.(integrativelifecenter.com, 2021) I think his gambling problem is actually both which mentions a lot of times in the book. This is also a lasting effect that we can observe as readers in the book.

The last one is Borderline personality disorder which is caused by a long-term pattern of unstable relationships.(Audrey, 2017) This is very easy to understand since his mother abandoned him. His rebel personality might also be caused by Borderline personality disorder. Usually, BPD comes with a strong fear of abandonment.

There is also another effect on child abandonment but I believe these are the most obvious ones relating to the book. We can tell that abandonment has a long-term effect on children, just like Deming in the book.

Citation: Sherman, A. (2021). 19 Lasting Effects of Abandoning or Emotionally Unavailable Parents. Psych Central. Retrieved 14 March 2021, from https://psychcentral.com/blog/dysfunction/2017/07/19-lasting-effects-of-abandoning-or-emotionally-unavailable-parents#3.

Health, B., & Different…, C. (2021). Compulsive Behaviors and Addiction | Mental Health Treatment. Integrative Life Center. Retrieved 14 March 2021, from https://integrativelifecenter.com/wellness-blog/compulsive-behaviors-and-addiction/.