16.8: Stress, Risks and Resilience

Learning Objectives

1. Distinguish between normal, tolerable, and toxic stress.
2. Explain how poverty, homelessness, trauma, domestic violence, and child maltreatment affect children's cognitive, emotional, and social development.
3. Identify the role of cortisol and other biological responses in the stress response system during early childhood.
4. Define resilience.
5. Describe internal and external protective factors that support recovery from adversity.
6. Describe evidence-based interventions that promote resilience.

What is the impact of stress on child development? Children experience different types of stressors. Normal, everyday stress can provide an opportunity for young children to build coping skills and poses little risk to development. Even more long-lasting stressful events, such as changing schools or losing a loved one, can be managed fairly well. But children who experience toxic stress or who live in extremely stressful situations of abuse over long periods of time can suffer long-lasting effects. The structures in the midbrain or limbic system, such as the hippocampus and amygdala, can be vulnerable to prolonged stress during early childhood (Middlebrooks and Audage, 2008).

High levels of the stress hormone cortisol can reduce the size of the hippocampus and affect the child's memory abilities. Stress hormones can also reduce the immune system's ability to fight disease. If the brain is exposed to long periods of severe stress, it can develop a low threshold, making the child hypersensitive to stress in the future. However, the effects of stress can be minimized if the child has the support of caring adults. Let's examine childhood stressors.

Poverty

Poverty is a significant social determinant of health and well-being, influencing all aspects of child development. Children raised in poverty often face numerous challenges that hinder their development and affect their long-term health and educational outcomes. Poverty-related stressors, such as food insecurity, poor housing conditions, and limited access to healthcare, can create a chaotic environment that impairs the ability of children to develop emotional regulation and cognitive abilities. Children from low-income families are more likely to attend schools with fewer resources, face higher rates of absenteeism, and experience lower academic achievement (Duncan & Brooks-Gunn, 2000), as well as increasing their risk for exposure to violence and neglect, which can all exacerbate the effects of poverty.

Homelessness

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Annual Homeless Assessment, nearly 150,000 children under the age of 18 experienced homelessness on any given night (2024). Homelessness has profound and long-lasting effects on children's development. Children who experience homelessness face instability, lack of a stable home environment, and exposure to trauma, all of which impact their growth and development (Shinn et.al, 2008). The lack of a consistent, safe place to live can lead to difficulties in concentrating, developing social relationships, and coping with stress (Bassuk et.al, 2005; Stewart et.al, 2000).

Trauma

Trauma refers to experiences that cause significant psychological distress and can include exposure to violence, abuse, neglect, natural disasters, accidents, racism, medical trauma, terrorism, refugee or war zone trauma, suicide, loss of a loved one, etc. For children, trauma can disrupt normal developmental processes. Traumatic experiences can lead to lasting changes in brain structure and function, particularly in areas related to emotional regulation and memory. A child's reaction to a traumatic event is affected by many factors, including:

• the nature of the experience,
• whether the child was prepared for it anyway,
• the severity of the incident,
• child's age or gender,
• whether the child had a personal history of other traumatic experiences,
• child's personality characteristics,
• coping abilities, and
• pre-trauma psychological health (Skuse et.al, 2011).

Domestic Abuse

Over three million children witness domestic violence each year in the US. There has been an increase in acknowledgment that children exposed to domestic abuse during their upbringing will suffer in their developmental and psychological welfare. Because of the awareness of domestic violence that some children have to face, it also generally impacts how the child develops emotionally, socially, behaviorally, and cognitively. Some emotional and behavioral problems that can result from domestic violence include increased aggressiveness, anxiety, and changes in how a child socializes with friends, family, and authorities. Bruises, broken bones, head injuries, lacerations, and internal bleeding are some of the acute effects of a domestic violence incident that require medical attention and hospitalization.

Child Maltreatment

Child abuse is the physical, sexual, or emotional mistreatment or neglect of a child or children. Each of these types of abuse was covered in more depth in Chapter 14, Section 8. Different jurisdictions have developed their own definitions of what constitutes child abuse for the purposes of removing a child from his/her family and/or prosecuting a criminal charge. There are four major categories of child abuse: neglect, physical abuse, psychological/emotional abuse, and sexual abuse. Neglect is the most common type of abuse in the United States and accounts for over 60 percent of child abuse cases.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): A child hiding. Image by Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Alaska is in the public domain.

Resiliency and Support

While exposure to stress and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have significant negative effects on development, children’s resilience—their ability to adapt and recover—can mitigate these outcomes. Resilience is influenced by both internal factors, such as temperament and self-regulation skills, and external factors, including the presence of supportive relationships and access to resources (Masten, 2014).

Protective factors that help children develop resilience include:

• A strong, positive relationship with at least one stable and responsive caregiver is one of the most critical factors in fostering resilience (Shonkoff et al., 2012).
• Teaching children strategies for managing emotions, such as mindfulness, self-soothing techniques, and problem-solving skills, can help mitigate the long-term effects of stress (Thompson, 2019).
• Peer relationships, extended family, teachers, and mentors can serve as additional buffers against adversity (Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000).
• Programs such as early childhood education, trauma-informed care, and after-school activities provide stability and opportunities for social-emotional growth (Ungar, 2015).

Research has identified several effective interventions that can help build resilience in children and improve their emotional, social, and cognitive development. These interventions target both the child and their environment, with a particular focus on the role of supportive relationships and community resources.

1. One of the most significant factors in building resilience is the presence of stable, supportive relationships. Research has shown that having at least one caring, consistent adult in a child’s life can buffer the negative effects of stress and trauma (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2004). Positive relationships provide children with emotional security, opportunities for modeling healthy behaviors, and support in managing difficult emotions. Mentoring programs, play therapy, home visiting programs, and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy are all strong intervention options in supporting positive relationships.
2. Teaching children how to cope with stress and adversity is another key component of building resilience. Coping skills, such as problem-solving, emotional regulation, and mindfulness, enable children to manage overwhelming feelings and difficult situations more effectively.
3. Stability in the home, school, and community helps children feel secure and fosters a sense of safety and predictability.
4. Children with a growth mindset believe that their abilities can improve with effort and persistence. This mindset encourages children to view challenges as opportunities for growth rather than as insurmountable obstacles, which is crucial for building resilience.
5. Peer support and connections to community resources also play a crucial role in building resilience. Children who are part of supportive peer groups or who have access to community organizations are more likely to thrive despite adversity.
6. Social-emotional learning (SEL) programs, such as the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), have been shown to enhance emotional regulation, improve social skills, and reduce problem behaviors (Durlak et al., 2011). These programs teach children how to recognize and manage their emotions, set goals, show empathy, and establish positive relationships.

References, Contributors and Attributions

Bassuk, E. L., DeCandia, C. J., Beach, C. A., & Berman, F. (2005). The impact of childhood homelessness on child development: A review of the literature. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 75(3), 320-324. https://doi.org/10.1037/0002-9432.75.3.320

Duncan, G. J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2000). Family poverty, welfare reform, and child development. Child Development, 71(1), 188-196. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00133

Durlak, J. A., Domitrovich, C. E., Weissberg, R. P., & Gullotta, T. P. (2011). Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL): A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405-432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x

Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71(3), 543-562. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00164

Masten, A. S. (2014). Global perspectives on resilience in children and youth. Child Development, 85(1), 6-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12205

Middlebrooks, J. S., & Audage, N. C. (2008). The effects of childhood stress on health across the lifespan. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/trauma_nccip.pdf

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2004). Young children develop in an environment of relationships. Working Paper No. 1. Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2004/04/Young-Children-Develop-in-an-Environment-of-Relationships.pdf

Shinn, M., Knickman, J. R., & Tunstall, R. (2008). Long-term impacts of homelessness on children: The national perspective. American Behavioral Scientist, 51(6), 1002-1016. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764208314533

Shonkoff, J. P., Boyce, W. T., & McEwen, B. S. (2012). Childhood adversity, toxic stress, and the impacts of resilience. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 8(1), 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032511-143109

Skuse, D., Goodyer, I. M., & Rutter, M. (2011). Childhood trauma and resilience: Impact on development. Psychological Medicine, 41(8), 1605-1614. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291711000224

Stewart, M., & Wang, C. L. (2000). Homeless children: Effects of homelessness on child development. Pediatrics in Review, 21(12), 423-429. https://doi.org/10.1542/pir.21-12-423

Thompson, R. A. (2019). Emotion regulation: A theme in search of a definition. Developmental Psychology, 55(10), 2021-2030. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000807

Ungar, M. (2015). Resilience and community development: A transformative approach to children and youth in crisis. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, 34(2), 7-19. https://doi.org/10.7870/cjcmh-2015-010

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2024). The 2024 annual homeless assessment report (AHAR) to Congress: Part 1: Point-in-time estimates of homelessness in the United States. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites...HAR-Part-1.pdf