{"id":78743,"date":"2023-08-16T11:42:23","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T16:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/?p=78743"},"modified":"2024-04-06T04:06:54","modified_gmt":"2024-04-06T04:06:54","slug":"positive-parenting-can-counteract-the-negative-impact-of-childhood-stress-on-brain-development-study-suggests","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/positive-parenting-can-counteract-the-negative-impact-of-childhood-stress-on-brain-development-study-suggests\/","title":{"rendered":"Positive parenting can counteract the negative impact of childhood stress on brain development, study suggests"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Childhood stress is linked to decreased hippocampal volume \u2014 a brain region important for memory and learning, according to new research published in\u00a0PNAS Nexus<\/em><\/a>. The study indicates that positive parenting practices act as a protective factor, but only when perceived positively by the youths themselves. The new findings contribute to our understanding of the impact of childhood stress and the factors that can promote resilience in children\u2019s neurodevelopment and psychological functioning.<\/p>\n

Previous research has shown that childhood stress can affect brain regions like the amygdala and hippocampus, leading to potential mental health issues. On the other hand, positive parenting has been linked to better outcomes for children, both behaviorally and neurobiologically.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s well known that stress experienced in childhood (e.g., chronic illness, death of a loved one) has negative effects on the brain and behavior of a developing child,\u201d explained study authors\u00a0Isabella Kahhale<\/a>, a clinical and developmental psychology graduate student, and\u00a0Jamie Hanson<\/a>, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur team has seen this really consistently for two brain regions involved with learning, memory and emotion\u2013 the hippocampus and the amygdala. When kids are stressed, parents and caregivers often want to know what they can do about it (i.e., how they can support youth in times of challenge). We sought to explore what role positive parenting \u2013 that is, warm and supportive caregiving, like providing praise for doing something well \u2013 would have in attenuating links between stress and negative effects on the brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is often seen for behavior, but few people have investigated it in the brain. We have previously found smaller volumes in the hippocampus and the amygdala after stress, but we wondered if this relation between stress and the brain would be different if there was a great deal of positive parenting in a child\u2019s environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

To conduct the study, the researchers gathered data from 482 participants aged 10 to 17 years. They used structural brain imaging to examine the volumes of the amygdala and hippocampus. The amygdala and hippocampus are two important structures in the brain that play significant roles in emotion processing, memory formation, and behavioral regulation.<\/p>\n

The amygdala is a small, almond-shaped structure located deep within the brain\u2019s temporal lobe. It is often referred to as the \u201cemotional center\u201d of the brain because of its critical role in processing emotions, especially negative emotions like fear, anxiety, and aggression. The hippocampus is another brain structure located in the medial temporal lobe, adjacent to the amygdala. It plays a crucial role in memory formation, learning, and spatial navigation.<\/p>\n

Childhood stress was measured using a checklist of negative life events, with the participants rating their distress in response to these events. Positive parenting was assessed through both youth and caregiver reports. Youth behavioral functioning was measured through a well-validated instrument assessing problem behaviors.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The researchers found that childhood stress was related to smaller hippocampal volumes, but not to differences in amygdala volumes. Positive parenting acted as a buffer against the negative effects of childhood stress on hippocampal volumes. In other words, youths who reported high levels of positive parenting did not show smaller hippocampal volumes even when they experienced higher levels of stress.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, only the youth\u2019s perspective on positive parenting mattered for this buffering effect; caregiver reports of positive parenting did not show the same relationship with neurobiology. This highlights the importance of considering youth perspectives in understanding how their experiences shape their brain development and psychological well-being.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest takeaways is that youth perception of support matters!\u201d Kahhale and Hanson told PsyPost. \u201cWe found that positive parenting protected against an association between childhood stress and smaller volumes in a part of the brain called the hippocampus, but ONLY when positive parenting was measured by asking kids what they thought. When parents were asked about their caregiving style, their responses did not have the same protective effect. The big point is that it\u2019s not enough for a parent to think they\u2019re being warm and supportive \u2013 youth actually need to feel\/perceive it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Examples of positive parenting practices include telling your your child that you like it when he\/she helps out around the house, letting your child know when he\/she is doing a good job with something, and rewarding your child for behaving well.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on some other work demonstrating that youth perceptions are particularly important, we expected the effects of youth perceptions of positive parenting to be stronger than those of parent perceptions \u2014 but it was still surprising that there was such a limited\/small effect of parent perceptions of positive parenting on the stress-brain link,\u201d the researchers added.<\/p>\n

The results suggest that positive parenting can have a protective effect against the harmful impacts of stress on the brain. It may do so by influencing biological processes, such as the hypothalamic\u2013pituitary\u2013adrenal (HPA) axis and cortisol reactivity, as well as socioemotional skills like self-regulation. However, the observed effects were relatively small, and the study had some limitations, such as its cross-sectional design and wide age range of participants.<\/p>\n

Further investigations are needed to explore the complex relationships between stress, parenting, and the brain, with longitudinal studies and targeted age ranges to uncover potential critical periods for buffering effects.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur team\u2019s work and that of others underscores that stressful experiences can have a detrimental impact on development; we\u2019re still learning more about what aspects of stress matter, and how,\u201d Kahhale and Hanson said. \u201cFor example, does it matter more if stressful experiences occur when someone is 5 years old, compared to 12? Also, what types of experiences might be particularly impactful? For example, experiences that are threatening, like violence, may influence the brain differently from experiences of deprivation, like not having enough food.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we as researchers might think that certain types of stress have particular characteristics, the person experiencing the stress may not feel that way. That is, not having enough food might feel very threatening to the person going through it. We are aiming to really centralize perceptions of experiences in our future work focused on stress exposure and the brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study, \u201cPositive parenting moderates associations between childhood stress and corticolimbic structure<\/a>\u201c, was authored by Isabella Kahhal\u00e9 Kelly R. Barry, and Jamie L. Hanson.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

by<\/span>\u00a0Eric W. Dolan<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo by Gustavo Fring<\/a><\/p>\n

Original postPsyPost<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Childhood stress is linked to decreased hippocampal volume \u2014 a brain region important for memory and learning, according to new research published in\u00a0PNAS Nexus. 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