WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Experts assessed levels of anxiety in children who were exposed to severe parenting techniques.
Children who regularly receive screams, blows or shakes can develop smaller brains in their teens.
Severe parenting techniques have been put under the microscope in a new study to determine whether there is a link between this type of behavior and a child’s development. In many parts of the world, severe education is acceptable, but experts believe it can have a serious impact on young people.
“The implications go beyond changes in the brain,” said the study’s lead author, Sabrina Suffren, Ph.D., of the Université de Montréal and the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center. “I think the important thing is that parents and society understand that the frequent use of severe parenting practices can impair the child’s development.
“We are talking about your social and emotional development, as well as your brain development.”
Previous studies have shown that sexual and emotional abuse, as well as neglect, have been linked to depression and anxiety in adulthood. Children who are victims of these types of abuse have been shown to have a smaller prefrontal cortex and amygdala, which play an important role in regulating emotions, anxiety and depression.
This new research also found that these areas of the brain were smaller in adolescents who were subjected to severe parenting practices in childhood.
We are talking about your social and emotional development, as well as your brain development.
–Sabrina Suffren, Ph.D., at the Université de Montréal and at the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center
“These findings are significant and new. It is the first time that severe parenting practices that fall short of serious abuse have been associated with a decrease in the size of the brain structure, similar to what we see in victims of serious acts of abuse,” added Suffren.
The study annually assessed the anxiety levels of children between the ages of 2 and 9 years, and the children were then divided into groups based on how exposed they had been to severe parents. Anxiety levels were analyzed again when children were between 12 and 16 years old, and anatomical magnetic resonances were also performed.
The research was carried out in partnership with researchers at Stanford University and published in the journal Development and Psychology.