A Case Report of Failure to Launch
Location
LSUHSC-NO
Publication Date
April 2026
Start Date
9-4-2026 10:00 AM
End Date
9-4-2026 2:00 PM
Description
Introduction: Failure to launch is the difficulty some young adults experience while transitioning from dependent adolescent life to independent adulthood. While not an official DSM-5 diagnosis, ""failure to launch"" is often seen in individuals struggling with psychiatric conditions, manifesting in behaviors such as extended time living at home, delayed employment, and lack of progress in social development. Adolescents and their parents have been presenting to Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists with this conglomeration of symptoms more frequently in recent years. However, there is very limited literature to date offering guidance for psychiatrists on how to address this issue. Throughout our research, we examine how this phenomenon differs based on cultural expectations, provide conclusions on when/if delays in this transition should be addressed, offer therapeutic solutions to adjust behaviors, and apply these findings to an outpatient case of "failure to launch."
Case Presentation: 18 year-old male with past psychiatric history of level 1 Autism, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder presents to clinic with mother with chief complaint of ""refusing to attend school or work."" He is currently living at home with mom, who supports him. Mother reports that he often defies rules at home and at school, leading to arguments that escalate to threats to harm self or others.
Discussion: We determined that the individual's failure to progress appropriately through developmental stages is problematic because these behaviors are further exacerbating his underlying mental conditions, as well as causing stress on parents. We identified a targeted therapeutic treatment named S.P.A.C.E. by Eli Lebowitz, PhD. S.P.A.C.E. is a parent-based treatment program designed to treat children with anxiety by teaching parents to reduce accommodations, or actions parents take which can actually maintain or worsen their child's symptoms over time. We apply this intervention as the treatment modality in our outpatient case of Failure to Launch.
Recommended Citation
Scott, Hannah MD and Foret, Rachel MD, "A Case Report of Failure to Launch" (2026). Dept. of Psychiatry Research Symposium. 23.
https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/psych_rd/2026/posters/23
A Case Report of Failure to Launch
LSUHSC-NO
Introduction: Failure to launch is the difficulty some young adults experience while transitioning from dependent adolescent life to independent adulthood. While not an official DSM-5 diagnosis, ""failure to launch"" is often seen in individuals struggling with psychiatric conditions, manifesting in behaviors such as extended time living at home, delayed employment, and lack of progress in social development. Adolescents and their parents have been presenting to Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists with this conglomeration of symptoms more frequently in recent years. However, there is very limited literature to date offering guidance for psychiatrists on how to address this issue. Throughout our research, we examine how this phenomenon differs based on cultural expectations, provide conclusions on when/if delays in this transition should be addressed, offer therapeutic solutions to adjust behaviors, and apply these findings to an outpatient case of "failure to launch."
Case Presentation: 18 year-old male with past psychiatric history of level 1 Autism, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder presents to clinic with mother with chief complaint of ""refusing to attend school or work."" He is currently living at home with mom, who supports him. Mother reports that he often defies rules at home and at school, leading to arguments that escalate to threats to harm self or others.
Discussion: We determined that the individual's failure to progress appropriately through developmental stages is problematic because these behaviors are further exacerbating his underlying mental conditions, as well as causing stress on parents. We identified a targeted therapeutic treatment named S.P.A.C.E. by Eli Lebowitz, PhD. S.P.A.C.E. is a parent-based treatment program designed to treat children with anxiety by teaching parents to reduce accommodations, or actions parents take which can actually maintain or worsen their child's symptoms over time. We apply this intervention as the treatment modality in our outpatient case of Failure to Launch.