We all know that a happy and nurtured childhood is important.
However, a new study published in Psychological Bulletin suggests that there are long-reaching effects of a violent childhood, such as aging the cells faster and altering the structure of the brain.
Katie McLaughlin, who teaches psychology at Harvard University and is the senior author for this study, said that the study outlined the psychological and physical effects that being exposed to violence at an early age may have on the childrens’ bodies.
Moreover, McLaughlin underlined that the effects of the childhood memories lasts for their entire lives. She emphasized that experts and politicians should approach mental health seriously because of the long-term public health consequences that this study reveals.
At the same time, she noted that the human brain can be rewired, especially when the children are young. This means that appropriate intervention before the damage becomes permanent will prevent and undercut any future consequences that childhood may have.
The study led by McLaughlin was a meta-study, which means that the researchers looked into an array of previous studies. They wanted to find out the relationship between childhood traumas and its effects from 79 different studies and 116,000 participants.
Interestingly, the researchers found out that a threatening environment and a deprived environment had different effects on quicker aging. While those who lived under abuse and violence grew up quicker, those who were in more deprived situations such as poverty didn’t age as quickly.
Unsurprisingly, the research also points out how youth traumas can adversely affect health from cardiovascular issues due to accelerated aging to more mental symptoms such as ADHD or depression.
Researchers also found out how these sustained violences can cause the childrens’ brains to rewire. To be exact, a correlation between childhood trauma and a thinning prefrontal cortex where sociality is managed has been identified by the researchers.
The core of the research was to suggest that society make the right steps for both the victims of violence and society as a whole by reducing public health issues. McLaughlin said reversibility – our capacity to bounce back after trauma – is a fledgling but promising field of study.
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Replaced!