WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Experts assessed anxiety levels in children who had been exposed to harsh parenting techniques.
Children who are called, beaten, or shaken regularly may develop smaller brains in adolescence.
In a new study, severe parenting techniques have been put under the microscope to determine if there is a link between this type of behavior and a child’s development. In many parts of the world, hard parenting is acceptable, but experts believe it can have a serious impact on young people.
“The implications go beyond changes in the brain,” said study lead author Sabrina Suffren, PhD, at the University of Montreal and the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center. “I think the important thing is for parents and society to understand that frequent use of harsh parenting practices can impair a child’s development.
“We’re talking about their social and emotional development, as well as 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. Children who were victims of this type of abuse were shown to have a smaller prefrontal cortex and an amygdala, which play an important role in regulating emotions and anxiety and depression.
This new research has also concluded that these areas of the brain were smaller in adolescents who had been subjected to harsh parenting practices during their childhood.
We are talking about their social and emotional development as well as their brain development.
–Sabrina Suffren, Ph.D., at the University of Montreal and the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center
“These findings are significant and new. It is the first time that harsh parenting practices that do not overcome severe abuse are related to decreased brain structure size, similar to what we see in victims of serious acts of ‘abuse,’ Suffren added.
The study annually assessed the anxiety levels of children aged 2 to 9 years and the children were divided into groups according to their exposure to severe parenting. Anxiety levels were re-analyzed when children were between 12 and 16 years old and anatomical MRI scans were also performed.
The research was conducted in collaboration with researchers at Stanford University and was published in the journal Development and Psychology.