I have to agree. The only "family" I had at any time, I was the middle child AND adopted PLUS gender dysphoric.

So I had to put up with the usual crap being the middle kid, plus being treated very differently than their four biological children.

And that was on top of the fact they KNEW that I was gender dysphoric, old Doctor Daddy flat out told the folks at the Catholic Children's Aid office who had told them about my gender issues that "he would make me into a man, even if it killed him".

His making me into a man involved beating me with a half inch thick, two inch wide leather belt, sometimes two or three times a day.

Well, after about seven years of that, I told the bastard that if he ever touched me again, I would kill HIM. He believed me and it ended.

That led to my being completely segregated from the rest of the family, until the adoption ended about thirteen months later. I wasn't allowed to leave my room during that whole time period unless I was using the bathroom, having a shower/bath or I was going to school.

So I know quite well about middle child syndrome, I lived it every day for eight years. Being treated differently because I wasn't their biological child only made the situation worse. I also know all too well about being a prisoner in what was supposed to be my home.

I can't say for sure either way if I ever actually experienced Stockholm syndrome while there, but I admit that it may have been possible.

I apologize for the rant, just remembering what I went through back then causes me to become rather angry very quickly. Think of it as you lighting a match, it's only a small flame, but when you use the lit match to light a bonfire, it can quickly become a very large flame/fire.

All in all, I am quite cynical about "loving families", far too many hide the reality from everyone else until someone discovers it. That is not to say that such families can't exist, I admit they can, I just find it hard to believe in them due to my own experiences, I suppose.