9. Stress and child development Flashcards
What does THompson says?
Children are biologically designed to rely on early social experiences to guide their future (positive and negative)
Link between maternal depression and baby in utero
Linked to increased cortisol levels at 3 months (stress hormone)
System in charge of dealing with stress
HPA (hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenocortical)
Factors that can cause disruption of the HPA
Low SES
Maternal depression
Emotional unavailability of mother
Outcomes of disrupted HPA
Heightened vigilance and self-regulation problems
Poor emotional self regulation
Poor social functioning
What does disrupted HPA function lead to?
- Decreased concentration
- Decreased memory
- Decreased focus and attention
- Increased emotional reactivity
- Decreased self-regulation
Important factors affecting outcome of stress on child development
Nature of the events
Child’s vulnerability/resiliency
Availability of support
Effects of prior experience on coping mechanisms
2 varying outcomes from early childhood stress
Hypervigilance OR hyporesponsiveness
What is hyporesponsiveness
Stress systems shuts down as a means of coping
What is epigenetics?
Effect of environmental factors on biological function
Harsh parenting early + biological vulnerability = increased risk for what?
Adult conduct disorder
Criminality
Anti-social personality
4 parts of stress on early child***
Nature of stress
Biological vulnerability
Support system
Epigenetics
What is an allostatic load?
All the accumulation that brings the body further away from homeostasis - effect on long term stress
Is stress bad?
Yes and no
- constant state of stress will lead to impacting our health
- can be good if effective and appropriate
