Persistent Fear and Anxiety Can Affect Young Children’s Learning and Development
Scientific research suggests that early exposure to circumstances that produce persistent fear and chronic anxiety can have lifelong consequences by disrupting the developing architecture of the brain. These findings are significant given that 1 every 7 children, and nearly 1 out of every 40 infants, in the United States experiences some form of maltreatment, including chronic neglect or physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.
The report, produced by the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, summarizes the effects of and misconceptions about fear-eliciting experiences that occur early in life, particularly in regard to how children learn, solve problems and relate to others. The authors argue that there is still widespread resistance in the policy arena to fully addressing the needs of young children who have been traumatized. They provide a number of recommendations to better address the needs of young children who have been traumatized, including accessible health insurance to cover the cost of therapeutic treatment , early identification and treatment for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders and related programs and policies that focus on children’s developmental needs.
The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, housed at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, is a multi-disciplinary collaboration designed to bring the science of early childhood and early brain development to bear on public decision-making.
