Warmth and affection from parents in early childhood can have lifelong physical and mental health benefits.
Research published in JAMA Psychiatry found that children who experience greater maternal warmth at the age of three have better positive perceptions of social safety by the age of 14 which the leads to better physical and mental health outcomes at age 16.
“These are the first results we know of showing that maternal warmth can affect the health and wellbeing of kids years later by influencing how they think about the social world,” Dr. George Slavich, senior author of the study and Director of the Laboratory for Stress Assessment and Research at UCLA said in a press statement.
“That is a powerful message, because although early-life circumstances are not always easy to change, we can help youth view others and their future in a more positive light.”
In undertaking their study, the researchers examined data from more than 8500 children assessed as part of the Millennium Cohort Study in the UK.
Evaluators visited the homes of the children in the study at the age of three and assessed the warmth of their mothers as well as the harshness of their mothers.
By the age of 14, the social safety schema of the children were measured by asking them questions about whether they had friends or family who made them feel happy, secure and safe.
Th social safety schema is the lens through which a person views every social interaction they have.
At age 17, the children reported their overall psychiatric and physical health problem as well as their degree of psychological distress.
The researchers determined that the children who had mothers who displayed more maternal warmth in their early childhood saw the world as more socially safe by age 14 and had fewer health problems by the age 17.
“The study’s findings—that maternal warmth in a child’s early life is associated with a more positive sense of social safety in teen years—ring very true from my professional experience. In working with children, teens, and adults, I’ve found that individuals who experienced more warmth and attunement from their early caregivers tend to internalize a sense of safety that is carried into adulthood,” Dr Carla Marie Manly, a clinical psychologist based in California told Theravive.
“This study’s findings harmonize beautifully with attachment theory, one of the most well-researched modalities. In attachment theory, caregivers who are warm, loving, and well-attuned to their child’s needs provide their child with a sense of “secure attachment” that allows them to feel safe and trusting in social settings and intimate relationships.”
In the study, maternal warmth was considered as a positive tone of voice, acts of affection and more praise.
Manly argues that maternal warmth can also vary depending on the needs of a child.
“From my framework, “warm” or affection parenting takes—first and foremost—attunement to the child’s disposition and needs. What might be felt as appropriately affective to one child may be experienced by another child as cloying or overly distant. So, the “ideal” warm or affectionate parent tunes into the child’s needs for comfort and attention and then strives to meet those needs in ways that the child can appreciate and absorb. Mothers (and fathers) who notice what soothes and brings joy to their infant and take care to appropriately offer more of the soothing and joyful behaviors are showing their baby attuned, loving warmth and affection,” she said.
“As the child grows, parents who continue this process create an environment that allows the child to feel seen, loved, and internally safe. Then, as the child moves into the greater world, that child tends to feel safe and comfortable in social situations because this sense of safety was instilled from early life forward. This doesn’t mean that a parent needs to be warm and affectionate 100% of the time. It means that parents who are overarchingly well-attuned to their child’s needs in warm, kind ways will tend to give their child a healthy foundation of love and safety that they will carry with them into their teen years and beyond.”
“It’s never too late to learn how to attune to your child’s needs for affection and warmth,” Manly added.
“Especially for those whose parents didn’t model warm, affectionate behavior, the learning curve can be a bit challenging—but it’s worth the effort!”