Science Daily reports that early negative life experiences may cause health problems in the future. Researchers from the University of California measured the biological health risk markers of 756 adults who participated in a previous Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study.
The participants were also asked to report the amount of stress they had experienced as children. By cross-examining the available data, researchers found that those who experienced high levels of abuse and low levels of affection had a higher risk of contracting different diseases, while those had very little negative experiences and received high levels of parental affection were least likely to be at risk.
"Our findings highlight the extent to which these childhood experiences are associated with evidence of increased biological risks across nearly all of the body's major regulatory systems. If we only look at individual biological parameters such as blood pressure or cholesterol, we would miss the fact that the early childhood experiences are related to a much broader set of biological risk indicators--suggesting the range of health risks that may result from such adverse childhood exposure," senior author Teresa Seeman explains.
This goes to show how parental interaction during a child's younger years may, indeed, affect her physical and emotional health. It’s important to raise her with the right balance of love and discipline in order to protect her from risks that may affect the rest of her life.
(Photo by Andrea Rose via Flickr Creative Commons)
