Our Children Are Watching

Survival of any biological system requires the establishment of homeostatic equilibrium and the flexibility to change in response to environmental challenges. 

This tension between maintaining stability and adapting to change is the canvass on which development is painted.  Development is a process of perturbing a system enough so that a new homeostatic set point (or “comfort zone”) is established.  Development can be conceptualized as a system moving from a state of organization, to disorganization and then reorganization.  It is not a continuous  upward progression but of peaks and valleys.  In the weeks prior to a toddler beginning to walk they may have difficulty sleeping through the night.  These developmental transitions are pivotal points that present children and their family members with both     opportunities and challenges.

However, if the mother’s attachment templates are associated with inconsistency, unpredictability, abandonment and threat then the thoughts of the infant trigger anxiety and distress.  To cope with this stress, some mothers may recapitulate her early experience and distance herself from her infant.  These mothers may not experience the same level of pleasure and struggle to meet the anticipated demands of their new role.  The mother might interpret the movement within her body as irritating, demanding, already overwhelmed and anticipate the worst after birth.  She may begin to question her own capacity to care for the infant but not see others as a resource.  Some mothers think that the baby will provide them the love they never felt earlier in their lives.  In these situations the mother knows the fetus is a part of her but she struggles to hold on to their separateness. 

After birth the mother can experience a sense of loss, depression or an overall sense of being overwhelmed.   A mother with a history of unhealthy attachments may not exhibit the same biological drive to be present and attuned to her newborn.  She does not derive a sense of pleasure when interacting with the infant.  This lack of pleasure or stress is communicated nonverbally to the infant through facial expressions and tactile interactions.  The infant’s own pleasure centers are not activated and his/her stress responses are not soothed.  Associations to other humans are weak and unsatisfying.  In an attempt to survive, experiences their mother can tolerate are ruled in and actions that cause her to withdraw are ruled out.  These rules are the framework for relational templates that guide future social interactions.

If an infant has access to other caregivers (fathers, relatives, and community members), they can form more positive, rewarding associations that allow them to compensate for the unresponsive maternal figure.   In today’s society, however, many parents are separated from their families of origin and isolated from community resources.   It is only after a child has been abused or severely neglected that the larger community gets involved.  

 There is no greater investment a society can make than to invest in the well being of its children.  In order to protect children, we must first protect the women in our society.  By creating opportunities for women to express their genetic potential, protecting them from abuse, providing access to quality health care and creating a supportive community, we develop the foundation for growth facilitative environments for our children.  Dr Bruce Perry says “The best time to help a child is 100 years before they are born”.   We cannot afford to wait.  Our children are  watching. 

 

REAPING WHAT WE SOW

A vast majority of the young people treated in the Child Protection, Mental Health and Juvenile Justice Systems have experienced exposure to chaotic, abusive, neglectful or violent environments in their lives. Although the exact prevalence of abuse and neglect varies, there is agreement that a significant number of youth served in these populations have survived exposure to overwhelming adverse life experiences. The impact of their exposure to traumatic stress has resulted in long term biological, psychological and social changes (www. childtrauma.org).  Isolated traumatic events tend to produce a conditioned, biological response to cues associated with the memory of that event.

 In contrast, there is a distinctively more pervasive effect on the development of youth who grow up experiencing chronic maltreatment and then find themselves victims of an isolated traumatic experience, such as a sexual or physical assault. Developmental trauma and chronic exposure to maltreatment during early childhood interferes with the organization and functioning of the brain’s regulatory systems.  Logically, this results in an increased need for mental healthcare and correctional measures as well as medical and other social services.  Research confirms that exposure to early childhood maltreatment sets a negative developmental pathway that ultimately leads to serious problems for the victim that impact all relationships that the child encounters throughout his or her life.

The Adverse Childhood Experience Study provided a link between childhood exposure to violence and other traumatic events and later developing psychiatric and physical disorders as well as substance abuse. The study found a significant relationship between adverse childhood experiences and depression, suicide attempts, substance abuse, sexual promiscuity and other high risk behavior. Additionally, the study found that the higher the number of adverse experiences reported, the higher the risk for developing not only psychiatric symptoms, but medical problems as well including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and liver disease (http://www.acestudy.org/).  The advances in neuroscience over the past two decades have led to new insights on how traumatic experiences early in life can influence an individual's development and often result in changes in perceptions, feelings, cognitions and behavior. One's behavior is a reflection of the world in which they have lived. High-risk, abusive behaviors toward themselves, others, or property can be understood as a way the youth adapted to early life relational experiences, which ultimately became wired into their neurobiology.

Scientific knowledge continues to demonstrate that early childhood maltreatment causes permanent damage to the structures and functioning of the developing brain. These changes impact the child’s stress response systems, immune systems and neuroendocrine system. In 2002, the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health report stated that mental illness ranks first among illnesses that cause disabilities in the United States, Canada and Western Europe. In 1997 the United States spent 71 billion dollars on treating mental illness. In addition, the indirect cost of mental illness to the economy was estimated to be 79 billion dollars in lost productivity.

This information suggests that  part of the our nation's strategy for fixing the healthcare system must include investment in abuse prevention, early interventions and mental health training . Protecting and caring for our children is not only the right thing to do, it is the most economically sound thing to do as well.

We must begin to change the way we look at, treat and educate the most vulnerable members of our society.