We know well that negative experiences at a young age such as difficult childhood, abandonment, separation or mistreatment can somehow affect health and mental well-being of people, even once they have become adults. However, this new study shows us that things are not always related.
Researchers engaged in this recent research sought to explore how people’s past life stories have influenced it development of “psychopathology”, that is, abnormal thoughts and / or behaviors that often underlie mental disorders. The results, however, were mixed: negative childhood experiences can indeed manifest themselves as anxiety or other mental health disorders, even at later times in life, but the absence of such experiences it does not guarantee to be totally free from possible future psychological problems.
“This research shows that mental health conditions are not determined solely by early life events“, explains the evolutionary psychologist Bianca Kahl, of the University of South Australia and co-author of study: “A child who grew up in a happy home may still develop a mental health disorder“.
It may seem like an obvious result, but is an important piece of research that helps break down the stigma that mental health problems only occur to some people. In the study, Kahl and colleagues interviewed 343 participants via an online questionnaire, asking them about their family and education, along with several questions that probe the nature of their mental health, general well-being, and the nature of their relationships and attachments today. .
On the question of whether a happy childhood (in particular, perceived parental support) acted as a kind of buffer against psychopathology, the researchers found that their hypothesis was not supported by the data, suggesting that the relationship is more complex than expected, highlighting territories not yet fully explored for future research.
“We suspect that it is the expectations about our environments and our ability to adapt to scenarios in which we do not feel satisfied that could influence our experiences of distress“, dice Kahl.”If as children we learn how to adapt to change and learn how to cope when things don’t go our way, we may be in a better position to respond to stress and other risk factors.“.
Did you also know that people with chronic depression have brain differences from the brains of healthy individuals?
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