In the last several weeks, there has been much interest in and concern about the effects on immigrant children on our southern borders of separating them from their parents. But what do we know about such effects of stress? There are many health care providers who believe that ongoing stress during early childhood can harm childrens' brains and other body systems. Such stressors can include severe poverty, neglect, sudden traumatic separation from parents, parents' substance abuse and/or mental illness, and familial dysfunction. There also are research findings consistent with the conclusion that chronic and severe stress in childhood can lead to some of the major causes of death and disease in adulthood, including heart attacks and diabetes. These findings have been reported in mainstream media, recently in a news article in US News and World Report from July 12, 2017 (Stress Can Affect a Child in a Major Way, by Lindsey Tanner).
Many providers are increasingly adopting what is called "trauma-informed" care. The approach starts with the premise that extreme stress or trauma can cause brain changes that may interfere with learning, explain troubling behavior, and endanger health. The goal is to identify affected children and families and provide services to treat or prevent continued stress.These services can include stress reduction for children such as breathing exercises, parenting classes, addiction treatment for parents, school and police-based programs, and psychotherapy.
Scientific findings have shown that the brain and disease-fighting immune system are not fully formed at birth and can be damaged by childhood adversity. The first three years are thought to be the most critical, and children lacking nurturing parents or other close relatives to help them cope with adversity are most at risk.
It is important to keep in mind that we are discussing chronic and severe stress during childhood. Under normal stress situations (for a young child that could be getting a shot or hearing a loud thunderstorm), the stress response is initiated resulting in brief rises in heart rate and elevated cortisol levels and other stress hormones. When the stress subsides or stops, the child's heart rate and cortisol levels return to a more normal level. However, when stress is severe and chronic, those levels may remain elevated, putting children in a persistent "fight or flight" mode.
In the article referenced, it was noted that recent studies suggest that chronic/severe stress changes the body's metabolism and contributes to internal inflammation, which can raise risk for developing diabetes and heart disease. In 2015, Brown University researchers reported finding elevated levels of inflammatory markers in saliva of children who had experienced abuse or other adversity. Also, experiments in animals and humans also suggest persistent stress may alter brain structure in regions affecting emotions and regulating behavior. This is true for both children and adults.
As is true for much of science, there is some disagreement among scientists about whether this phenomenon really exists for children given the state of research. However, given that such findings occur for adults as well, it is reasonable to conclude that exposure to chronic/severe stress during childhood might have such negative health consequences.Much of the recent interest stems from landmark U.S. government-led research published in 1998 called the Adverse Childhood Experiences study. It found that adults exposed to neglect, poverty, violence, substance abuse, parents' mental illness and other domestic dysfunction were more likely than others to have heart problems, diabetes, depression and asthma. In other words, they had experienced more stress. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics supports the theory and in 2012 issued recommendations urging pediatricians to educate parents and the public about the long-term consequences of toxic stress and to push for new policies and treatments to prevent it or reduce its effects.
It is time to focus on screening and intervention in children at risk for the negative consequences of chronic and severe stress. If you want more information on stress and its effects on your life and that of your family, you can acquire our book on this topic (I Can't Take it Anymore: How to Manage Stress so It Doesn't Manage You; Paul G. Longobardi, Ph.D., and Janice B. Longobardi, R.N., P.H.N.), available through Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542458056 . If you want more information about the authors and the book, please see our website at www.manageyourhealthandstress.com .
Best wishes on your journey.
Dr. Paul Longobardi
For information on these and related topics, please see my website at www.successandmindset.com