10:00 AM
Wednesday 10 February 2021
–
D b a
It is well understood that a difficult childhood can increase the risk of mental illness, but according to a new study conducted by the University of South Australia, it is found that a happy and safe childhood does not always protect a child from developing a mental illness in his later life.
The research was conducted in partnership with the University of Canberra, and its results are part of a study published in the Current Psychology journal. The study looks at how early childhood experiences relate to different development paths, and how this may be related to poor mental health.
Given that positive and negative childhood experiences appear in the form of anxiety or other mental health disorders in adulthood, researchers believe that the ability to adapt – or not adapt – to unexpected scenarios may affect our mental health.
While the study confirmed that people who had harmful and unexpected experiences in their early life had elevated symptoms of poor mental health (including depression and paranoia), it also found that children who grew up in stable and supportive environments are also prone to developing symptoms of anxiety in adulthood. According to what was reported by “Science Daily” from the study. Lead author Bianca Kahl, from the University of South Australia, said the study sheds light on the random nature of mental illness and reveals key ideas related to potential risk factors for all children.
She added, “Our research shows that mental illnesses are not determined only by events at the beginning of life, and that a child who grew up in a happy home may still grow up and suffer from a psychological disorder.”
She explained, “We believe that our expectations about our environments and our ability to adapt to scenarios when these expectations are not met, and this may affect our experiences of suffering.”
“If we learn, as children, how to cope with change and how to cope when things do not go according to our vision, then we may be in a better position to respond to stress and other factors of poor mental health,” she said.
– .
