People Who Moved A Lot As Kids Usually Have 4 Tough Experiences As Adults
Dean Drobot | Shutterstock While moving often as a kid may have taught you to embrace the unknown and adapt to new people and places, a study published by the American Psychological Association found that all that upheaval might not be as positive as it sounds.
In a sample of 7,108 American adults studied over 10 years, researchers asked how the number of moves they made as children has influenced them throughout adulthood. Researchers noted that adults who moved frequently in their youth showed “poorer well-being” in their lives now.
4 tough experiences of adults who moved a lot as kids:
Beyond the familiar ways adults may have been affected by frequent moves as children, such as performing poorly in school or experiencing behavioral problems, researchers took note of some less observed results of these environmental resets that actually show up later in life.
1. They are less satisfied with life
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The study found that the more times participants moved as kids, the more likely they were to report lower life satisfaction, such as feeling unfulfilled and unhappy. This perception of their lives likely stems from strong feelings of instability and unpredictability, and a lack of security during childhood. These kids never truly felt like they fit in and often didn't want to try because they would likely just move again.
Because of these uncomfortable experiences, as adults they feel stuck in the same cycles of instability and may not understand how to establish the structure they lacked in childhood. They might additionally struggle with fears of abandonment and loneliness.
2. They have poor emotional well-being
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The study also found that adults who moved around often early in life reported lower psychological well-being. This ties in with overcoming the traumatic feelings these experiences likely triggered from a young age.
The fears caused by the chaos of constantly changing environments and struggling to build and maintain relationships can repeat in adulthood. That gets lonely quickly.
However, this adaptability can also influence kids positively, allowing them to take the lessons and experiences they gain from each move and apply them to their growth. Nonetheless, this does not invalidate the challenges that might still show up later on in life.
3. They struggle to maintain relationships
The study also found that many participants struggled to build or maintain long-lasting relationships, especially if they have introverted tendencies. Moving to a new city and school can be scary to any kid, but while more outgoing individuals aren’t afraid of talking to new people, introverted kids experience much more anxiety in this department.
The repetitive process of leaving a school you're already comfortable in to transfer to a new one in a new environment can be extremely distressing and can keep some kids from building strong friendships, leading them to develop attachment issues as they get older.
Additionally, this experience can lead individuals to view their relationships with others as disposable, which may make them feel the urge to run away when faced with challenges.
According to the MacArthur Foundation, every move causes minor declines in social skills and emotional well-being, but these effects accumulate over time, which may explain why these individuals grow up feeling especially lonely and alienated and struggle to bond with others.
4. They have heightened stress
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The trauma of moving has become so widely experienced with similar symptoms in adulthood that it’s been coined as “transfer trauma,” or Relocation Stress Syndrome, according to Leacy Brown, a South Dakota State University Extension gerontology field specialist.
In fact, the trauma of moving can cause several mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Moving is stressful for adults; imagine how that feels for kids. That stress response can easily get triggered in adulthood by any minor inconvenience.
At the end of the day, everyone perceives their experiences differently, and moving often brings both benefits and challenges. Some may have struggled more than others and still struggle, while others may have embraced opportunities to grow in new environments.
While some adults feel inclined to stay in one place and finally establish the security they have always craved, many others struggle with the periodic itch to change their environment, likely because they've become conditioned by their moving experiences.
As an introvert who went to several different schools in my youth, I can admit to experiencing stress under these unstable circumstances, however i can also confirm that the experiences shaped me for the better, exposing me to environments outside of my comfort zone and teaching me to embrace the unknown.
Francesca Duarte is a writer based in Orlando, FL. She covers lifestyle, human interest, adventure, and spirituality topics.
