Marriage and Family Life: The ParentingYearspsychological difficulties.However,
adolescents from both indulgent and
neglectful homes scored lower in school
performance and displayed more behavior
problems than adolescents from
authoritative and authoritarian homes.
This suggests indulgent and neglectful
homes may be equally problematic.
Children Under Stress
Extended biological and psychosocial
stress in childhood is associated with long-
term vulnerability to a variety of mental
and emotional problems (Egle et al.,
2001).Michael Gurian examines this
relationship in his bookThe Soul of the
Child,drawing from neurobiological
research and the Genome Project.He
confirms what family scientists have
believed all along (Gurian,2002).Gurian
describes the physical changes which take
place in the brain as a result of nurturing
and attachment.These changes can be
seen on PET scans,which shows that all
human sensations—every thought and
action—are first experienced in the brain
as electrical energy.The brain then
translates these as feelings,actions,or
words.Certain parts of the brain“light
up”or remain“dark”based on electrical
stimulation.
John Bowlby (1969) theorized
attachment is instinctive and there is a
biological control center in the brain
which regulates attachment behavior.PET
scans now allow neurobiologists to watch
the brain of a child“light up”when their
mom comes into the room (Schore,2000).
“The brain vibrates,light emissions
increase,the body vibrates,signals,and
reaches out for Mom”(Gurian,2002,p.
51).Over time,when mom and dad are
attuned to the baby’s cues,the brain
circuits grow more readily and richly (i.e.,
stronger and denser).If the parents are
harsh or unloving toward the child,the
child’s circuits do not grow as readily or
richly as a child with loving,attentive
parents.The less rich these circuits,the
less likely a child will have the full human
emotional spectrum later in life (Schore,
1997,2000).Amazingly,in a chronicallyThe higher the stress level and the more
prolonged, the greater the likelihood of
permanent brain changes.ImagefromBigstockPhoto.com/Hallgerd