There are large differences in the ways that children react to stress within family life. Whereas some children are resilient to stress and cope well with it, others can have enormous problems.

Factors that influence the child’s ability to cope with stress include temperament, high self-esteem and high IQ. It is also noted that girls are less prone to suffering from stress than boys.

Studies has shown that babies who are sociable and active in the visual exploration of their environment and have good early coordination are less likely to respond to later adversity, such as rebellion at school, delinquency or psychiatric illness.

If you’re a family member with children and you are suffering from stress you are more likely to treat your child insensitively. If a child is easy going and makes fewer demands of parents, they are more likely to experience fewer problems in relationships with parents and be less affected by deteriorating family circumstances.

Children with a high self-esteem and high intelligence are less likely to develop behavioural problems even when there are extreme cases of adversity presented to them. In these cases, when a child suffers from stress they are more likely to think through a range of solutions and strategies to help them cope with the stressor better.

If the child has a close relationship with a person who is sensitive to their needs, it is more likely that they will be able to cope better in cases where there is a breakdown in the parental relationship.

Another factor in determining how successful the child will be in managing stress, is the volume of stressful events that the child has to deal with. Whereas most individuals are able to cope with one adverse event at a time, a succession of adverse events can have a disruptive effect on the child’s well-being.

In cases of divorce children are confronted with a series of stressful events which might include: a change in the family circle of friends, a drop in the standard of living, a splitting of the time spent with the mother and father. Children show less disturbance to divorce if their socio-economic lifestyle remains unchanged.

The key message for parents that are suffering from stress, and for those that wish to protect their children as much as possible from stress having a negative impact on their child’s development is: to ensure that a close and continuous relationship which addresses the emotional needs of the child, and that there is a consistent level of socio-economic well-being as the family dynamic changes in this period.

Sources:

• Lawrence, E., Ph.d. Shapiro, Robin, K., Sprague, 2009 The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook for Kids. New Harbinger Pubns.
• Radford, J., Govier, E., 1991.A Textbook of Psychology. Routledge