Private jailhouse emails from Josh Duggar to his parents reveal an emotional pattern in which the convicted former reality TV star appears to prioritize his parents' feelings over his own while serving a federal sentence.

Dr. Sanam Hafeez, director of Comprehend the Mind, told RadarOnline that Duggar internalized his parents' fragility so deeply that their comfort comes first, even while he is incarcerated. She noted a recurring pattern in the correspondence of alternating declarations of love and grievances written in all capital letters.

Hafeez said the all-caps language suggests he is screaming and apologizing for screaming at the same time. She added that the habit indicates a communication pattern from a household where one had to be extraordinarily loud to get attention, but extraordinarily soft to avoid punishment.

Commenting on Duggar's caretaking role within the family, Hafeez said the behavior mirrors children raised by emotionally immature parents and that the role can become so ingrained that even as an adult, even behind bars, the nervous system defaults to caretaking because that was the only way love ever felt secure.

Read more: Kendra Duggar Arrested for Child Endangerment as Joseph Duggar Faces Additional Charges

Hafeez pointed specifically to a May 2022 email in which Duggar asked his mother not to hang up on him during phone calls and wrote, "I was talking respectfully and I was trying to address something important. This is HURTING ME AND MY WIFE AND KIDS." She described the so-called hang-up incident as a core wound, noting that he nonetheless opened the message with gratitude in an apparent attempt to soften the criticism.

Hafeez said the line "I don't know if this is even worth writing" reflects someone who was historically dismissed when they tried to communicate needs and that Duggar's persistence in writing shows he is still desperately seeking a repair that the other party may not be capable of offering, according to AOL.

Duggar was found guilty on a child pornography charge in December 2021 and was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison. The outlet also noted that his younger brother, Joseph Duggar, was arrested on separate molestation allegations from a 2020 family vacation; Joseph was released on bail and his case has not gone to trial.

READ MORE: Josh Duggar Speaks Out, Dismisses Molestation Claim Against Brother as "False Accusation"

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Josh Duggar, Duggar Family