| Age group | Signs and symptoms | Adverse effects |
| Infants and toddlers | - Disrupted sleep patterns
- Disrupted feeding routines
- Poor weight gain
- Excessive screaming
- Developmental delays
| - Emotional distress and fear of being alone
- Attachment problems
|
| Preschoolers | - Behavioral problems
- Posttraumatic stress symptoms
- Aggressive behavior
- Anxiety symptoms
- Regressive behaviors such as bedwetting, thumb-sucking
- Nightmares
| - Difficulty developing empathy
- Poor self-esteem
- Nightmares
- Sleep difficulties
- Separation/anxiety issues
|
| School-age | - Problems concentrating and focusing
- Depression
- Behavioral problems such as conduct disorders or mood disorders
- Bullying/aggressive behavior
- Poor academic performance
- Somatic complaints such as chronic headache or abdominal pain
| - Feeling guilty, blaming themselves
- Adoption of antisocial rationales for abusive behavior
- Poor social skills
- Peer difficulties
- Bullying/aggressive behavior
- Parentification
|
| Adolescents | - Substance abuse problems
- Sexual promiscuity
- Teenage pregnancy
- Sexually transmitted infections
- School failure/truancy
| - Difficulty forming healthy relationships
- Avoidant attachment style
- Aggression
- Abusive behaviors in their own intimate relationships
- Mental and emotional disengagement
- Parentification
|
