The author links abuse (betrayal by adults of the child’s expectation of the support necessary to its development) to the intolerance of prolonged dependence, which is part of the human condition and lays the groundwork for the insecurity that makes one vulnerable to narcissistic and even sexual seduction. He describes the consequences of these clinical conjunctions in the disabused adolescent that the abused child has become, and the issues in treatment.

Adolescence, 2025, 43, 2, 273-282.