4 Types of Emotionally Immature Parents That Might Have Raised You [Video]

If your relationship with your parents or caregivers has ever felt strained, tense, or distant, they might be emotionally immature, according to Dr. Lindsay C. Gibson, a clinical psychologist specializing in dysfunctional families.

“Most emotionally immature parents will show problems with being egocentric, showing low empathy, avoiding emotional intimacy, not being self-reflective, and dealing with reality by denying, dismissing, or distorting anything they find unpleasant,” Gibson told Business Insider over email.

Relationships with these parents can be confusing because they might still show they care about you in other ways — like offering financial support or taking great care of you when you’re sick. Gibson previously told BI that’s why she avoids terms like narcissism to describe these parents, as they “tend to paint the personality with a broad brush.”

Instead, she focuses on four main types of emotionally immature parents and how they impact their kids.

While a parent can be more than one type, Gibson …