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Reading 2/2:
Stress
Our bodies are designed to react when facing a threat, triggering the 'fight-or-flight' response. This instinctual reaction involves heightened alertness, increased heart rate, and the release of
stress hormones, but it can also occur in response to non-life-threatening stressors like work pressure or family issues.
In these cases, our stress is considered "positive", because it is temporary and helps us survive. But our bodies sometimes react in the same way to more mundane stressors, too. When a
child faces constant and unrelenting stress, from neglect, or abuse, or living in chaos, the response stays activated, and may eventually derail normal development. This is what is known as
"toxic stress". The effects are not the same in every child, and can be buffered by the support of a parent or caregiver, in which case the stress is considered "tolerable". But toxic stress can
have profound consequences, sometimes even spanning generations. Figuring out how to address stressors before they change the brain and our immune and cardiovascular systems is
one of the biggest questions in the field of childhood development today.
In 1998, two researchers, Vincent Felitti and Robert Anda, pioneered in publishing a study demonstrating that people who had experienced abuse or household dysfunction as children were
more likely to have serious health problems, like cancer or liver diseases, and unhealthy lifestyle habits, like drinking heavily or using drugs as adults. This became known as the "ACE
Study." short for "adverse childhood experiences." Scientists have since linked more than a dozen forms of ACES - including homelessness, discrimination, and physical, mental, and sexual
abuse with a higher risk of poor health in adulthood.
Every child reacts to stress differently, and some are naturally more resilient than others. Nevertheless, the pathways that link adversity in childhood with health problems in adulthood lead
back to toxic stress. As Jenny Anderson, senior reporter at Quartz, explains, "when a child lives with abuse, neglect, or is witness to violence, he or she is primed for that fight or flight all the
time. The burden of that stress, which is known as 'allostatic load or overload.' referring to the wear and tear that results from either too much stress or from inefficient management of
internal balance, e.g.. not turning off the response when it is no longer needed, can damage small, developing brains and bodies. A brain that thinks it is in constant danger has trouble
organizing itself, which can manifest itself later as problems of paying attention, or sitting still, or following instructions - all of which are needed for learning".
Toxic is a loaded word. Critics believe that the term is judgmental and unfairly blames parents for things outside their control. Others say it is often misused to describe the source of stress
itself rather than the biological process by which it could negatively affect some children.
According to John Devaney, the term can unfairly label individuals and suggest past traumatic experiences. Some pediatricians do not like the term because of how difficult it is to actually fix
the stressors their patients face from poverty and racism. They feel it is too fatalistic to tell families that their child is experiencing toxic stress, and there is little they can do about it.
The most effective prevention for toxic stress is to reduce the source of the stress. Another one is to ensure love and support from a parent or caregiver. Young children's stress responses
are more stable, even in difficult situations, when they are with an adult they trust.
1) The effects of toxic stress
A. are not the same in every child.
B. can be decreased if parents are supportive.
C. can transfer from one generation to another.
D. All of the above.
2) The ACE Study concluded that individuals who had a traumatic home life during their childhood
A. were more inclined to choose not to have children in their adult years.
R were more prone to creating distraccinn anvirnnmante for their children ac adulte
