Indrani's troubled past may have driven her to extreme behaviour: Experts

New Delhi As reports about the alleged parental abuse of Indrani Mukerjea the mother and the prime suspect in the murder of her daughter Sheena Bora during her childhood emerge experts say that effects of extreme negative parenting may have crept deeper into her personality turning her into a coldhearted personldquoWith many failed relationships behind her Indrani may have developed a maladaptive coping mechanism Such persons struggle with dysfunctional personality issues poor impulse control and an inability to think ahead about the consequences of their actionsrdquo said Dr Sameer Malhotra director mental health and behavioural sciences at Max Super Speciality Hospital in New DelhildquoSince the motherchild bond was not nurtured and she had no rapport with her children it is possible that she did not regard them as family but saw them only as adversaries out to destroy her life and achievementsrdquo he told IANSAccording to experts female victims of chronic abuse in their childhood may sometimes start identifying with the perpetrator and may take on the behavioural patterns of the perpetratorldquoAnger frustration and feeling of being wronged can make them feel negative towards the world at large and their own environment in general making them negative peoplerdquo noted Dr Jyoti Kapoor Madan consultant clinical psychology at Paras Hospitals in GurgaonVictims of childhood sex abuse are often guilt ridden and angry for what happened to them This disturbs relationship with parent figure with the possibility of fear of parental responsibility low confidence as a parent or confusion regarding parents roleldquoTheir self esteem can touch extreme low and hence may make them overtly critical of themselvesrdquo she saidA child understands unpleasant experience as a punishment and hence feel responsible for themldquoAs the victim grows the troubled past continues to make them vulnerable to self loathing and negative appraisal of self as well as the worldrdquo Dr Madan commentedldquoLoss of trust in relationships and anxiety can make one extremely angry at oneself as well as the world at largeldquoThe victims have poor stress coping ability and may have difficulty in areas of emotional control and behavioural impulsivityrdquo Dr Madan explainedNew research from University of Rochester in New York has suggested that an abused kid can turn into a narcissist parent who yells hits or show other kinds of negative parenting behaviourldquoWe know that maltreated children can have really low selfesteemrdquo said Louisa Michl lead researcher of the study published in the journal Child MaltreatmentAccording to Dr Samir Parikh director of mental health and behavioural sciences at Fortis Hospital in New Delhi although several factors are involved for a person to commit a heinous crime like murder ldquoright counselling can help improve parenting skills in such peoplerdquoThe victims of childhood abuse have repressed memories and emotions that may express in the form of various psychological and psychosomatic problemsChildren learn emotional and interpersonal skills through experience gained from environment which constitutes parents and immediate familyAny negative interaction has a great impact on childs eventual personality and adult behavioural patterns experts commentedldquoIf a child repeatedly receives negative messages through abusive language physical violence or sexual abuse he or she learns to expect the same from environment as an adult and therefore their coping skills are mostly aimed at defending themselves from the hurt caused by negative experiencesrdquo they elaboratedAs an adult this child would need to develop a trust that the world was not a threatening place This is where therapy helpsldquoThey need support guidance and therapy to repress negative emotions and build self esteem and trust in order to develop positive relationshipsrdquo Dr Madan advised