How to protect the mental health of vulnerable children

The study shows that positive relationships with parents and other adults help build resilience

A recent study reveals that positive relationships with parents and other adults during childhood are associated with better mental health in adulthood, even for those exposed to childhood adversity.

The findings, by a team from Columbia University, in the United States, were published in the journal JAMA Psychiatrysuggest that interventions that promote connection between children and their caregivers during childhood can benefit young people’s health, reducing the risk of mental disorders such as depression and anxiety.

Professor of psychiatry Sara VanBronkhorst, lead author of the study, says that a loving relationship with a parent, a caregiver or another adult is an extremely important factor in resilience: “Our study shows that children who have at least one positive, committed relationship with an adult are less likely to experience depression, anxiety and perceived stress later in life.”

Children under stress

The researchers focused on young people from marginalized and minority populations, who are more likely to experience multiple adversities intuitions on sociocultural factors that would strengthen their lifelong resilience, i.e. the ability to cope with stress.

To identify markers of resilience, researchers examined data from 2,000 participants in a longitudinal study that tracked three generations of families for 20 years. They are all of Puerto Rican descent, with approximately half residing on the island of Puerto Rico and the remainder in the South Bronx, New York.

The researchers assessed adverse experiences at three time points during childhood. These experiences may include physical or emotional abuse, neglect, caregiver mental illness, caregiver death or incarceration, and domestic violence.

Factors associated with protection

They also measured seven sociocultural factors associated with resilience, which included social relationships (maternal affection and friendships, for example), as well as familism and family religiosity. Mental health outcomes were measured throughout adulthood and included generalized anxiety disorder, depression, substance use disorder, and perceived stress.

As expected, the researchers found that measures of social relationships were associated with less depression and anxiety and less perceived stress in young adults.

Surprisingly, the researchers found that family religiosity, often considered protective, was associated with more, not less, perceived stress among young adults who had experienced adverse events. The team’s hypothesis for this unexpected finding is that religious families may have higher levels of shame and guilt associated with events such as drug use or incarceration.

The fact that several indicators traditionally associated with resilience do not confer the expected protection highlights the importance of finding other ways to support children facing adversity in the context of marginalization and minority.

Resilience is a process

In addition to her role at Columbia, Sara works as a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Network180, a community mental health clinic that serves many children with a high number of adverse life events.

The parents I work with see their children struggling, they want to build these positive relationships, but a lot of things get in the way,” she says. “We should be helping them with parenting classes and family therapy; we can educate teachers and community members. But we should also consider broader, structural interventions that might reduce experiences of adversity and the causes of stress that interfere with the formation of adult bonds that can protect children from stress.”

It reinforces the fact that resilience cannot be reduced to the individual attributes one is born with. It is a process that occurs only if children and those who care for them have access to resources in their environment that foster strong relationships and experiences that give meaning to life.

Source: Terra

Ben

Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.