Children and Mental Health: The Foundation

THE FOUNDATION

Part 1

Spheres of influence

Children and young people’s mental health is one of the most critical human assets. The combination of human biology and exposure to experiences impacts and shapes the mental health of children and young people in three spheres of influence. These spheres are:

1. The World of the Child: From birth to adolescence, immediate impacts on mental health reside in the child’s world – the world of mothers, dads, and caregivers. Appropriate nutrition, secure and safe families, skilled and active caregivers, and loving and enriching settings are all crucial factors in the child’s world.
2. The World Around the Child: As a child’s universe expands, their circles of influence expand to encompass the world. In addition to the elements of mental health developed in the child’s world, the world around the child must be rooted in a safe and secure environment (both in-person and online), as well as in healthy relationships within their preschools, schools, and communities.
3. The World at Large: The world at large, the third main area of influence, has a significant impact on shaping mental health. Poverty, disaster, conflict, discrimination, migration, and pandemics are examples of large-scale socioeconomic factors that impact the lives of children and young people throughout the world. The world at large affects the lives of mothers, fathers, and caregivers. As children grow into teenagers and adults, the world at large will directly affect their mental health and futures.

The major developmental stages of childhood and adolescence provide unique possibilities to improve and protect mental health.

According to UNICEF’s study in Sierra Leone, community health workers play an essential role in ensuring the emotional wellbeing of caregivers since their mental health and emotional wellbeing will contribute to their child’s wellbeing.

Part 2 

Critical moments of the child’s development

Children’s brains develop as part of a dynamic interaction between their genes, experiences, and the environment in which they live. Cultivating mental health can also be linked to critical developmental stages in children. Important moments are at the start, during the perinatal period, early childhood, childhood, and adolescence.

At the start

This contact occurs before conception and impacts genetic, biological, and developmental processes. Neurodevelopment begins in the womb, and nervous systems are developed. For example, the cells involved in the reproduction process can be transformed by an epigenetic process driven by psychological stress, toxicants, and drug exposure.

As a newborn, the brain develops at an astonishing rate, creating more than one million neural connections each second. Positive events and circumstances can foster brain growth, while negative ones might become dangerous factors.

Development and mental health are tightly tied to the environment in which a child is nurtured during prenatal and early childhood. Fathers are progressively undertaking increased caregiving responsibilities in various regions of the world. The role of parental influence in children’s and young people’s mental health is currently enduring extensive examinations.

 

First decade

At the initial stage of the first decade, skills that will help children understand, solve problems, interact, express themselves and perceive emotions, and create relationships are acquired in their early childhood. The children’s world expands during middle childhood, and learning environments begin to impact children’s development of transferrable skills and physical and mental health.

Second decade

Adolescence is critical for realizing human potential and ensuring long-term mental health. During adolescence, various brain parts undergo dynamic neurological changes that impact social perception and cognition. Puberty typically occurs between 8 and 12 years old for girls and 9 and 14 for boys.

Early physical maturity is linked to early sexual initiation, delinquency, and substance use in both boys and girls. Early puberty is associated with anxiety, sadness, and eating disorders for girls. The development of mental health disorders tends to occur during puberty, yet the relationship between the two remains uncertain.

Influences on mental health during adolescence are no longer concentrated on parents, caregivers, and houses. Poverty, conflict, gender norms, technology, and labor have a more substantial impact on how young people learn and work. Peer influences such as classmates, schools, and their communities play significant roles in the lives of young people.

Though socioeconomic factors of mental health have a role throughout one’s life, children might become direct dangers during adolescence, resulting in a decreased set of opportunities in the educational and employment realms.

Part 3

Connecting the critical moments

Significant developmental moments are linked by critical challenges in child development, including attachment, developmental cascades, cumulative risks, and biological embedding.

 

Attachment

When a child feels safe and comfortable enough to step out and experience the world, they develop attachment. Strong attachment strengthens the child’s capacity to build curiosity, emotion management, and empathy skills. Whenever attachment is positive, responsive, and sympathetic, the child learns a model to create a sense of self, identity, and a foundation for subsequent relationships.

Children conclude their attachment to a primary caregiver between 6 and 9 months. Attachment to a caregiver does not have to be instantaneous or physical in middle childhood. Secure bonds with peers are recreated during adolescence. A child’s bond to its parents is crucial, even if it then begins to seek increased independence.

Adolescent parenthood is frequently associated with risks, such as poverty and a lack of prenatal care and social support. Teenage pregnancy can negatively influence the development of the emotional and cognitive abilities needed to create a healthy connection with a newborn. Newborn’s attachment requirements might clash with an adolescent parent’s increasing demand for independence.

 

Developmental cascades

Positive and negative experiences and environments may drastically impact a child’s development from infancy through adolescence. Negative experiences, on the other hand (neglect, abuse, and continuous severe stress), raise exposure to additional dangers that may surface later in life. Negative experiences can have long-term effects on cognitive development, physical and mental health, as well as educational and career performance.

 

Cumulative risk

The higher the amount of risk factors a child is exposed to in their early childhood, the likelier mental health issues will develop at a later stage. Risk clusters are most prominent among children from low-income families, ethnic minorities, and immigrants. For instance, a child who has a toxic home environment will probably experience difficulties at school.

 

Biological embedding

According to research, stress and trauma can affect a child’s brain and make them more vulnerable to physical and psychological harm. Adverse events and settings that alter biology or brain development can erode resilience and increase vulnerability. These alterations can either aid or limit stability in the face of adversity.

A study has shown that children adopted from orphanages still have higher levels of cortisol (a hormone released in response to stress) than other children six years after adoption. The study was carried out on Romanian children who had lived in orphanages for over eight months in their first year of life.

 

Early deprivations: A life-course effect

Several studies have found a significant connection between the length of time spent in a facility and signs of mental health disorders at the age of six. Children who faced hardship were more likely to struggle in school and at work. On the other hand, those who were adopted by well-resourced and supportive families were less likely to develop mental health problems.

 

Part 4

Trauma and stress: How do they affect to a child’s mental health?

Stress and trauma are major factors determining children’s learning and development and young people’s mental health. When stress and trauma occur, they pose a mental health risk. However, they can trigger responses with long-term biological and cognitive health effects when they appear early in life.

Toxic stress

Stress is necessary for healthy brain growth and mental health in small doses, yet, at significant levels, it is toxic. Anxiety presents itself in varying degrees during a child’s life, from the womb to adolescence. According to the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, there are three types of stress: positive, tolerable, and toxic.

Positive stress is moderate, short-lived, and a normal aspect of daily life. It is activated when a child obtains an immunization or encounters a new caregiver.

Tolerable stress is more severe but short-lived, giving the brain time to recover.

Toxic stress is the activation of a person’s stress management mechanisms in a powerful, frequent, or prolonged manner. Toxic stress in children arises when no caring adult is around to provide safety and comfort. According to existing research, maternal stress might impact a child’s later stress response even during the prenatal period. In contrast, damage caused by toxic stress can last a lifetime.

 

Adverse childhood experiences

Dangers leading to toxic stress in childhood are often categorized as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). ACEs are defined as persistent, frequent, and intense sources of stress that children may suffer early in life. The word ACE refers to encounters that occur outside of one’s home and family boundaries.

WHO broadly defines ACEs as “multiple types of abuse; neglect; violence between parents or caregivers”. Toxic stress caused by ACEs can damage physical and mental health, social development, and educational success. ACEs are also tragically frequent, and the harm increases as they accumulate. Reports show that more than two-thirds of the population in the United States have experienced at least one ACE in the United States, and a quarter has experienced three or more.

According to research conducted in Cambodia, Malawi, and Nigeria, intimate partner violence in children can increase the risk of mental health problems.

Children and young people might be traumatized by conflict and social and political instability. As roles in families and communities shift during adolescence, new traumas might occur in young people’s lives, such as underage marriage, interpersonal violence, gender-based violence, and intimate partner violence. Some of these traumas are caused by a direct connection to war or violence, while the destruction of families and communities causes others.

A case study in Kenya showed that since the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, children were the victim of abuses such as domestic, sexual, neglect, and physical abuse. National helplines for children, such as Childline Kenya, address mental health and violence and have played an enormous role in providing help and protection for children victimized by constant abuse, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Summarized by Zinat Asadova

Revised by Olga Ruiz Pilato

Source: The State Of The Worl’s Children 2021, pages from 51 to 63