Childhood stress and anxiety can stem from many possible sources. Identifying the cause of your child’s stress will help you determine the treatment. Sometimes stress can be eliminated by removing the source. If you can’t eliminate the source, you may be able to at least minimize the anxiety your child is experiencing by dealing with the cause. Sometimes anxiety can only be handled by seeing a professional who can work with your child. Stress that is not eliminated or at least reduced can have negative consequences.
Andrew Sullivan of The Daily Dish for The Atlantic revealed that stress could be responsible for the achievement gap found between children who grew up in poverty compared to children who grew up better off. Children growing up in poverty demonstrated a lower working memory capacity. Working memory is related to how well a person will perform in reading, language, and problem-solving. In his Frontal Cortex blog, Jonah Lehrer explains that there is a considerable amount of research “linking stress during brain development to a wide variety of brain deficits…”
What can make child anxious and stressed? As with many things, researchers and doctors have debated the nature versus nurture issue. Dr. Giuseppe Spezzano reported on a John Hopkins School of Medicine study appearing in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. The study “found that parents with anxiety disorders are up to 7 times more likely to have children with anxiety disorders.” Spezzano went on to say that “anxiety has a higher learned component than most mental disorders.”
Nature and nurture can be looked at as external or internal to the child. Here are some examples:
External to the Child. There are many known causes of stress. Some causes of anxiety may come from outside the child, such as a divorce, a move, or a death. School can cause children stress, in areas such as workload, grades, and peer pressure. Specific situations such as going to the dentist or doctor can provoke stress in children.
Internal to the Child. Some stress can come from within, such as pessimism, self-doubt, unrealistic expectations, and an overall negative perspective on life. These stress inducers can become permanent if not addressed. Persistent and consistent stress can be detrimental to a child’s well-being.
Dr Laura had an interesting perspective on childhood stress and depression as she discussed the topic in her blog. She believes that we have too many choices in our society. She explained that “Morals and values have been sacrificed in favor of infamy and fortune.” This is hard to deny. Our children are presented with our present day “heroes” consisting of athletes who take drugs to enhance their performance and movie stars who have put fame and fortune before family and relationships. Education has been downplayed and power and money is seen as the ultimate goal.
Whatever the cause of your child’s stress, once you identify the source you can decide on your next step. Remember, there are plenty of professionals to help. You are not in this alone. If you can’t determine what is going on with your child or you just need a professional’s insight, there are plenty to work with you.
About Danette Schott, M.A.
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