Childlike temperament and upbringing
Children can react very differently to the same parental behaviour. In science, this is traditionally viewed from a perspective that is explained by the so-called diathesis-stress model. According to this model, some children have characteristics that make them overly sensitive to risks in their environment - such as difficult conditions or negative parental behaviour.
These children are more vulnerable to stressors and are more likely to develop behavioural problems such as depression, anxiety, aggressive or criminal behaviour compared to children without this vulnerability. But can children with such vulnerability - or rather: susceptibility - also develop splendidly if they grow up in a caring and supportive parental environment?
Less receptive children are like dandelions: they can flower almost anywhere.
ORCHID AND DANDELION CHILDREN
A new approach, which propagates the concept of so-called differential susceptibility, supports this assumption. According to this concept, children differ in their receptivity to parental behaviour, both positively and negatively. Receptive children are like orchids: In difficult, unfavourable conditions they quickly perish, but with the right care they develop into beautiful, magnificent flowers. Less receptive children are like dandelions: resilient and able to bloom almost anywhere, even in the cracks of a pavement.
The same characteristics that make susceptible children disproportionately vulnerable to negative parental experiences also allow them to benefit disproportionately from positive experiences.
How do you recognise susceptible orchid children? In our research, we measure the different levels of receptivity in children based on their temperament. Temperament reflects the way a person acts, thinks and feels. Temperament has a biological basis, is already present in infants and is fairly stable over time and situations.
SENSITIVE OR SUSCEPTIBLE?
In the first part of our research project, we carried out a meta-analysis and summarised the research literature on how differently children react to parental behaviour depending on their temperament. A meta-analysis is a statistical procedure that summarises the results of independent studies. We wanted to find out whether the different reactions of the children can be explained by the diathesis-stress model, according to which children differ in their sensitivity to the negative effects of harsh parental behaviour. Or whether the differences reflect the newer concept of differential susceptibility, according to which children differ in their susceptibility to both the negative effects of harsh parental behaviour and the positive effects of caring parental behaviour.
We found more evidence for the concept of differential susceptibility, that is, that the susceptible Orchid children suffer excessively from the negative effects of harsh parental behaviour but also benefit excessively from caring parental behaviour.
Highly sensitive children perceive odours or noise more strongly.
To recognise these particularly susceptible children, we assessed their negative emotionality, a temperamental trait that reflects a person's tendency to be easily stressed. Children with high negative emotionality are easily frightened or frustrated and difficult to calm when upset.
Toddlers with high negative emotionality appear to be more receptive to parental behaviour - both positive and negative. If these children had harsh or dismissive parents, they showed more behavioural problems in later childhood. However, if they had warm and caring parents, their social skills were better and they were better students. Orchid children with high negative emotionality thus reacted more strongly to harsh, dismissive behaviour, but also more strongly to warm, caring behaviour, compared to dandelion children with lower negative emotionality.
OF PARTICULAR INTEREST IS HIGH SENSITIVITY
What happens next? The susceptibility of children with pronounced negative emotionality was only present if it had already been identified in infancy. This indicates that a high level of negative emotionality in older children does not automatically lead to a high level of susceptibility.
We therefore want to investigate which temperamental characteristics we can use to recognise greater susceptibility in older children. To do this, we collected information from 280 children (4 to 6 years old) and their parents. One of the temperament traits we are particularly interested in is high sensitivity. Highly sensitive children perceive subtle things in their environment - for example a pleasant odour or soft tissue. They are easily overwhelmed in very stimulating situations, such as when there is a lot of noise or when many things are happening at the same time.
With this research, we want to understand why some children react more strongly to their parents than others. Ultimately, this knowledge can help parents to better tailor their behaviour to the needs of individual children, whether they are more or less receptive.
Photo: Pexels.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Meike Slagt is a PhD student at the Research Centre for Child and Youth Studies at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. She is researching how differently children react to their parents' behaviour and whether these differences can be explained by the children's temperament.
JACOBS FOUNDATION
As one of the world's leading charitable foundations, the Jacobs Foundation has been committed to promoting research in the field of child and youth development for 25 years. The Foundation aims to provide sustainable support for future generations by improving their development opportunities.