Childhood Stress

Childhood Stress and Today's Youth

Abstract

In this study we try to explore the concept of “Childhood Stress and Today's Youth” in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on “Childhood Stress” and its relation with “Today's Youth”. The research also analyzes many aspects of “Childhood Stress” and tries to gauge its effect on “Today's Youth”. Finally the research describes various factors which are responsible for “Childhood Stress” and tries to describe the overall effect of “Childhood Stress” on “Today's Youth”.

Table of Content

Introduction1

Body: Discussion and Analysis2

Signs of Unresolved Stress in Children4

Risk Factors Involved5

The Anticipatory Stress Response in Stress7

Anticipatory Stress in Children9

Genetics, Prenatal Development, and Anticipatory Stress12

Dealing with Stress- The Bible Way15

Conclusion15

Childhood Stress and Today's Youth

Introduction

Tragedies happen all too often to children. Some kids are victims of trauma, neglect, physical, sexual or emotional abuse, often from the people they love and depend on the most. Kidnapping, dog bites, burns, rape, death of a parent, or a major motor vehicle crash are traumatic events that cause feelings of fear, helplessness, and horror. In spite of catastrophes that turn their world upside down, most children will have a normal reaction to stress that resolves over time. However, some children will be unable to cope with the trauma; their coping skills may be overwhelmed, the mind and body may become extremely hyper-reactive due to chronic stress, and the child may ultimately develop posttraumatic stress disorder (stress). Stress is a specific type of anxiety disorder that can occur after a horrifying traumatic event. The characteristics of stress are re-experiencing the trauma through vivid memories, flashbacks, or nightmares, avoiding anything related to the trauma, numbing of emotions, and hyper arousal, such as constant scanning for threats and irritability (Clinton, 2006).

Body: Discussion and Analysis

Trauma in childhood can lead to a significant and prolonged stress response, and can have a devastating effect on the child's health and well-being. Children with stress are significantly more likely to have chronic immune and neurological diseases such as asthma, allergies, ADHD, headache, and gastrointestinal problems than children without stress. In one comprehensive study, girls and adolescent females with stress had much higher rates of chronic disease, including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable-bowel syndrome, chronic pelvic pain, and dysmenorrheal. Stress is strongly correlated with, but distinct from, depression, anxiety, substance use, eating disorders, dissociative disorders, and borderline personality disorder. Depression frequently occurs with stress in children and adolescents, with estimates of Co morbidity 25-70.6%. Dissociative and borderline personality disorders can occur along with stress primarily in young women. In Seng's study of nearly 30,000 Medicaid claims records, almost every diagnosis of depression, anxiety, substance use, or eating disorders Co morbid with stress in the girls ages 9 and younger. The results of this comprehensive study indicate that the diagnosis of stress plus depression and associated dissociative or borderline personality disorder appears to be a dose-response predictor of developing a chronic illness. The severity of the chronic illness appears to be correlated with the severity of stress and ...