WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Experts evaluated anxiety levels in children exposed to harsh parenting techniques.
Children who are regularly yelled, hit, or shaken can develop smaller brains in adolescence.
Hard parenting techniques have been examined in a new study to determine whether there is a link between this type of behavior and a child’s development. Hard parenting is acceptable in many places around the world, but experts believe it can have serious consequences for young people.
“The implications go beyond changes in the brain,” said lead study author Sabrina Suffren, Ph.D., at the Université de Montréal and the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center. “I think it is important for parents and society to understand that the frequent use of harsh parenting practices can harm a child’s development.
“We are talking about their social and emotional development, but also about their brain development.”
Previous studies have shown that sexual and emotional abuse, as well as neglect, have been linked to depression and anxiety in later life. Minor victims of this type of abuse were found to have a smaller prefrontal cortex and amygdala, both of which play important roles in the regulation of emotions and anxiety and depression.
This new research has also concluded that these areas of the brain were smaller in adolescents who had faced harsh parenting practices in their childhood.
We are talking about their social and emotional development, as well as their brain development.
–Sabrina Suffren, Ph.D., Université de Montréal and the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center
“These findings are both significant and new. It is the first time that harsh parenting practices that do not lead to serious abuse have been associated with decreased brain structure, similar to what we see in victims of serious abuse,” Suffren added.
The study annually evaluated the anxiety levels of children between the ages of 2 and 9, and the children were then divided into groups based on their exposure to harsh parenting. Anxiety levels were re-analyzed when the children were between the ages of 12 and 16, and anatomical MRIs were also performed.
The research was conducted in collaboration with researchers from Stanford University and published in the journal Development and Psychology.