When your child turns to tears and tantrums to get their way, you may think it’s just a phase of emotional wellness development that will pass, but US researchers have found that this type of behaviour can affect your child’s physical wellbeing later on in life, especially in girls. According to their study, girls who experienced distress as seven-year-olds had a 31% increased risk of heart disease in their 40s.
The study from the researchers at Harvard Medical School demonstrated that calm, focused youngsters have a lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke later on in life, whilst the heart health of those who often got upset, especially females, was significantly more at risk in their early 40s. In women, high levels of distress at the age of seven were associated with a 31% increased risk of heart disease, while it was 17% in men.
Led by Dr Allison Appleton from Harvard Medical School, the researchers looked at 377 adults who had undergone emotional behaviour tests as children, comparing these results with a risk score for cardiovascular disease, and taking other controlling factors into account. The results were published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, and the team now hopes to do further research into this area, so they can better understand the link and whether a biological mechanism might underpin the finding. Dr Appleton concluded by saying that ‘We know that persistent distress can cause dysregulation of the stress response and that is something we want to look at.’
This isn’t the first study to demonstrate that distressing behaviour can affect health later on in life. One controversial study from Plymouth University, published in the Journal of Behavioural Medicine, said that if you smack or shout at your children, you increase their risk of developing cancer, heart disease and asthma. According to study leader, Professor Michael Hyland, ‘Our research adds a new perspective on the increasing evidence that the use of corporal punishment can contribute to childhood stress, and when it becomes a stressor, corporal punishment contributes to poor outcomes both for the individual concerned and for society.’
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