2.3 Stress
How does stress affect child development? Can some stress be good? What does “toxic stress” mean?
We often hear about the negative effects of stress on human health. Let’s look more closely at how stress affects early brain development and the long-term outcomes for various types of stress.
We all experience stressful situations, and our bodies react to these situations. The magnitude of the stressor along with support systems, if any, around us influence the long-term impact of stress.
In the next video from Tajikistan, watch as young Yusuf gets his first needle at the local health centre.
How did Yusuf respond when his mother was able to pick him up after getting the needle? How did he react when she put him down to dress him?
What does this scene tell you about the role of his mother in helping him to handle this stressful event?
Who was more stressed, Yusuf or his mother?
For Yusuf, the pain of the needle activated a biological and behavioural stress reaction. The reading below provides an introduction to the biology of stress.
Dr. Megan Gunnar of the University of Minnesota studies the biology of stress and how it affects brain development and behaviour. In the next video, she explains the two parts of the mammalian stress response.
In the next clip, Gunnar discusses the difference between stressors and stress, and she describes what chronic activation of the stress system means for early brain development.
Why is it important for people who work with young children and families to understand how stress pathways develop?
How is it inevitable that all babies will experience some stress? Can stress be positive?
The following article and video from the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2005/2014) discuss how specific types of stress can affect the developing brain with lifelong implications.
The science-policy gap indicates society could be doing more to alleviate stress for young children and families. How do the concerns cited in the National Scientific Council article relate to your community?
Dr. Jean Clinton, clinical professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neuroscience at McMaster University, explains why parents need to consider that when a child’s stress system is “turned on” the child will not be ready to learn but rather needs a warm connection with a caregiver to rebalance.
Now listen as Gunnar discusses when stressors are likely to cause toxic stress and the effect on child development.
Now watch as Gunnar describes how the prefrontal cortex is affected in an environment of threat and how that helps explain why children who experience chronic stress may struggle in school or in other contexts where they are expected to focus their attention, think and control their actions.
For more information on Megan Gunnar’s research, visit the website for her lab.
The most damaging source of stress for children is ongoing abuse and/or neglect. The image below depicts the brain activity of a normally developing child (left) and a child reared in an institution in Romania who was neglected in infancy (right). The black and blue tones demonstrate that brain regions such as the temporal lobes, which sub-serve emotion are practically inactive in the Romanian child compared to the healthy child.
The Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP) a longitudinal study based on severely neglected Romanian orphans who were institutionalized from birth and later moved into nurturing homes. The study is outlined by Dr. Charles Nelson in the following clip.
The Ecology of Childhood module includes updates on this research study on p. 2.2.
Defining different types of stress activation can help caregivers understand that when children experience stress, the caregiver’s presence and support can help to reduce the negative impact on brain development. Review your understanding of the three types of stress activation.
There is no doubt that toxic stress can have devastating effects on children. Dr. Michael Yellow Bird, Dean of the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba, presents a practical and hopeful message about the “healing power” of some everyday experiences. He explains how traditional activities such as movement, dance and singing affect our brains, and alleviate stress. As you listen to the next three videos, think about what Dr. Yellow Bird’s message means to you and to children in your life.
Which of Dr. Yellow Bird’s messages resonate with you, and ways you can manage stress in your own life?
How can you apply his suggestions to your work with children?
