Uninvolved /Neglectful
With the uninvolved style of parenting, the parents are indifferent and sometimes referred to as neglectful. They don’t respond to their child’s needs and make relatively few demands. This could be because of severe depression, substance abuse, or other factors such as the parents’ extreme focus on work. Neglectful parents may look to their children for support and guidance, and these children often end up "parenting their parents." These parents may provide for the child’s basic needs, but little else; in more extreme forms of neglect, basic needs may not be cared for at all or children may be placed in harmful situations.
These children, much like those raised in permissive homes, tend to have myriad problems, but often the problems are often much more serious. Children raised in this parenting style are usually emotionally withdrawn, fearful, and anxious; perform poorly in school; and are at an increased risk of substance abuse (Darling, 1999).