INFLUENCING FACTORS
Many factors influence the early childhood mental health. These influences can be both positive and negative. These include Brain Development and Social Determinants of Health as listed below. Please also refer to the 7 other influencing factors found in the drop down menu to the left.
Brain Development Social Determinant of Health
The early years (0-6 years) are a critical period for brain development. There is rapid growth and development of the brain during early childhood. In fact, by four years of age, a child’s brain is already 90% of the size of an adult’s brain and the brain has mapped out the way it will communicate with its different parts and the body. During these early years, there is the most opportunity to impact brain development. This is also a time when the brain is the most vulnerable.
The Brain: A Sum of its Parts
Although the brain is a complex system of interconnected parts, the functions of these parts can generally be identified by their location in the brain. Different areas of the brain are responsible for different functions. However, all of these areas interact together to allow the brain to work as a whole system.
How does the brain communicate between different areas?
Communication within the brain is called neurotransmission. Neurotransmission takes place using neurons (nerve cells) and neural networks (connections between neurons). Neurons communicate with each other through electrical stimulation that passes from one neuron to another. There are over 100 billion neurons in the brain. Many of these are already formed by the time that a baby is born, although some are added after birth. However, although many neurons already exist at birth, they are not connected in any meaningful way that allows for “communication”.
What are neural networks?
Neurons that are stimulated together form connections and these connections develop into networks of interconnected neurons. These networks are developed and reinforced in a “use-dependent” fashion. The repeated stimulation of neural networks through similar experiences reinforces or strengthens them. When neural connections are not reinforced, they “die” off or “fade away”. This process takes place in early childhood and the networks that are strengthened are based on the sorts of repeated experiences the child has, e.g. if a child has frequent positive interactions, his brain will become ‘wired’ to perceive, interpret and respond to positive interactions.
Consistent caregiving is one of the key forms of repetitive experiences available for very young children. Stimulation through repetitive experiences, such as, listening to the mother’s heart beat, rocking, and hearing soothing sounds and routines, all help to build neural networks.
How does the brain develop?
The brain develops in a sequential and hierarchical fashion starting from the lower regions and working its way up. Picture this as a pyramid with the lower regions as the base. If the base is not properly developed, the whole structure will be impacted.
Not only can the function of the brain be affected during early childhood, so too can the actual structure of the brain. Children who are abused or neglected have been shown to have smaller brains and other structural differences compared to the brains of a children who come from positive caregiving backgrounds.
If the brain does not develop properly in early childhood, can it still be “fixed” later on?
The answer to this is no and yes.
Brain structures that are underdeveloped in childhood or whose structures have been impacted by stress related chemicals will probably not be able to be what they would have been if they had not been impacted.
However, neural systems are plastic and can be changed. This can be a lengthy process and some systems are easier to change than others. Change is easiest at an early age but possible later in life as well. Change to neural networks must occur in the same order that development normally does and therefore it is important to start from the lowest areas of the brain impacted.
(Back to Influencing Factors)
Social Determinants of Health
Children are at an even higher risk from environmental factors (social determinants of health) because they are completely reliant on others. Experiencing challenges with one or two social determinants will not necessarily have an influence on family and child health, however, as the number of determinants negatively impacting a family increases, the risks also increase.
When discussing early childhood mental health, it is important to remember look holistically at children and their families. It is easy to develop a limited perspective of a family based on the context we meet them in. Please see the list of the social determinants of health below. The list provides some examples of factors that may have a positive or negative influence on a family and child.
Income and Social Status
- Access to affordable food
- Access to transportation
- Access to services
Social Support Networks
- Presence of extended family
- Influence of peers
- Support from other families in the community
Education and Literacy, i.e. health literacy
- Availability of literacy friendly health resources and information
- Computer proficiency
Employment/Working Conditions
- Availability of work for one or both parents in the community
- Safe working conditions
- Availability of child care for working parents
Social Environments
- Availability of free or affordable resources and community events for families
- Safe environment in which children can play
- Safe home environment
Physical Environments
- Geographical location or isolation
- Access to safe environments for community gatherings during the winter
- Space within home, e.g., overcrowding
- Living space, e.g., a house, apartment or a shelter
Personal Health Practices and Coping Skills
- Resilience and coping skills
- Understanding of health information
Healthy Child Development
- Understanding of child development
- Availability of referral and assessment services
- Clear, literacy friendly information about child development and parenting
Biology and Genetic Endowment
- Illness or disability in child or family
Health Services
- Availability of family doctors in the community
- Access to emergency service
Gender
- Roles and expectations
Culture
- Cultural norms and expectations about child rearing