Outskirts Press, INC.

A Groundbreaking New Exploration of Abandonment’s Lasting Effects This important work provides new insights into the lasting effects of adoption and single-parent households on children’s later mental development. Paying particular attention to the proclivity for addiction, this scholarly yet accessible work explores how the separation affects children’s developing attitudes and maturation. The research suggests why many become susceptible to a plethora of mental disorders and addictions. As children progress in their development and discover their adoptive background, children may feel abandoned and use illegal substances as a means of escape. Author M.A. Zagata examines how these processes germinate by drawing on his own powerful experiences, including his upbringing and hands-on counseling and investigative background. What he reveals is a new hypothesis worthy of further serious academic study that is sure to enhance the work of professionals in the mental health, social services, and child-care fields. The Instance of Physical Separation also surveys how associated fields—such as teaching, administrative and social services, and courts and counseling—can create added pressures and multiply problems. This sweeping and ambitious work is required reading for anyone in the helping professions, especially certified chemical dependency counselors.