From the moment of birth, a child establishes a mental framework of opinions regarding the surrounding world, themselves, and others, all of which are originally derived from the relationship they have with their parents. This is known as a schema in psychology. Schemas inform our thoughts, emotions and behaviour, and can be positive or negative. Early maladaptive schemas, unfortunately, are strongly correlated with the development of mental disorders in adulthood. Due to the presence of such a schema, attachments, trauma and socio-economic circumstances are just some childhood influences which affect adult mental health.
Influence No. 1: Childhood Attachments
According to attachment theory, the emotional attachments which we form with our primary caregivers during infancy can influence our interpersonal relationships later in life. In the 1970s, developmental psychologist Mary Ainsworth conducted an observational study titled the ‘Strange Situation’ on 1-2-year-olds to determine the styles of attachment and identified 3 attachment types: secure (type B), insecure-avoidant (type A) and insecure-ambivalent/resistant (type C).
John Bowlby was a psychologist who extended Ainsworth’s attachment theory by constructing the concept of an internal working model, which states that consistency exists between early emotional experiences and later relationships, due to the continuity hypothesis. Indeed, reviews of studies linking attachment to later development such as those conducted by Fearon and Roisman (2017) have concluded that early attachment consistently predicts both later attachment and emotional well-being. How strong the relationship is between early attachment type and later development depends both on the attachment type and the aspect of later development. So whilst insecure-avoidant attachment seems to convey fairly mild disadvantages for any aspect of development, disorganised attachment is strongly associated with later mental disorder.
Influence No. 2: Childhood Trauma & PTSD
Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are typically categorised as either simple or complex. Simple trauma is associated with a specific, significant traumatic event, such as a car accident or a natural disaster. Complex trauma, on the other hand, is characteristically chronic, not to mention pervasive. This kind of ceaseless stress impacts individuals both physically and psychologically for the remainder of their lifetimes. Recent research reveals that experiencing childhood traumatic events increases the risk of developing a mental health disorder in adulthood as much as three times. Plus, children who undergo traumatic experiences are 15 times more likely to be diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) later in life. This is because exposure to trauma at an early age negatively affects a young person’s self-concept and emotion-regulation strategies - both of which are related to the development of BPD. Synonymously, young adults who remember experiences of childhood maltreatment before the age of 12 suffered a greater number of depressive or anxiety episodes over the subsequent decade than those who did not recall maltreatment.
Influence No. 3: Childhood Circumstances
Researchers from Aix-Marseille University, Chulalongkorn University Thailand and Paris School of Economics analysed information on more than 6,000 people born in England, Scotland and Wales in 1958, who are being followed by the National Child Development Study, and more than 5,000 people born in Britain in 1970, who are taking part in the 1970 British Cohort Study. To investigate how childhood circumstances influenced people’s future adult lives and happiness, the study first scrutinised information on family background, well-being, cognitive ability and conduct across childhood and adolescence up to age 16.
This was compared with data on their subsequent academic achievement, employment, income, behaviour, health and wellbeing and partnership status, up to age 50 for the Baby Boomers, and age 42 for Generation X. The researchers compared these data against resulting levels of life satisfaction across adulthood. The findings revealed that for both generations, emotional well-being during childhood and adolescence had the biggest impact on future life satisfaction. The link between childhood happiness and adult satisfaction was partially explained by the fact that happy children tended to excel in their careers and relationships, and consequently enjoyed good physical and mental health in adulthood. Additionally, children’s cognitive ability and behaviour also mattered for future life satisfaction. Among both generations, bright children were likely to succeed across all aspects of adult life, which increased their chances of happiness.
Reference List
Anon, (n.d.). CLS | Happy children tend to become happy adults, research finds. [online] Available at: https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/happy-children-tend-to-become-happy-adults-research-finds/. Accessed 13 June 2024
Cleveland Clinic (2023). Attachment Styles in Infancy & Adulthood. [online] Cleveland Clinic. Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/25170-attachment-styles. Accessed 13 June 2024
Fearon, R.M.P. and Roisman, G.I. (2017). Attachment theory: Progress and Future Directions. Current Opinion in Psychology, [online] 15(15), pp.131–136. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.03.002. Accessed 13 June 2024
Newport Institute (2022). 4 Ways Childhood Trauma Impacts Young Adult Thriving. [online] Newport Institute. Available at: https://www.newportinstitute.com/resources/treatment/childhood-trauma/. Accessed 13 June 2024
Sójta, K. and Strzelecki, D. (2023). Early Maladaptive Schemas and Their Impact on Parenting: Do Dysfunctional Schemas Pass Generationally?—A Systematic Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(4), p.1263. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12041263. Accessed 13 June 2024
Yassin, F. (2020). What are the different types of attachment? - The Wave Clinic. [online] The Wave Clinic. Available at: https://thewaveclinic.com/blog/what-are-the-different-types-of-attachment/#:~:text=From%20the%20observational%20study%2C%20Ainsworth. Accessed 13 June 2024
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