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Related Experiment Videos

Does brain dysfunction increased children's vulnerability to environmental stress?

N Breslau1

  • 1Department of Psychiatry, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI 48202.

Archives of General Psychiatry
|January 1, 1990
PubMed
Summary

Children with physical disabilities face higher risks of psychopathology. This study found no evidence that brain dysfunction increases vulnerability to environmental stress in these children.

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Area of Science:

  • Child psychology
  • Neurodevelopmental disorders
  • Pediatric psychopathology

Background:

  • Children with physical conditions affecting the brain show increased psychopathology risk.
  • The relationship between brain dysfunction, environmental stress, and psychopathology is not fully understood.
  • The vulnerability hypothesis suggests brain dysfunction heightens susceptibility to environmental stressors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the vulnerability hypothesis in children with physical disabilities.
  • To determine if brain dysfunction directly causes psychopathology or increases environmental stress vulnerability.
  • To examine the interplay between physical disabilities, family environment, and psychopathology.

Main Methods:

  • Study sample included 157 children with cerebral palsy, myelodysplasia, or multiple handicaps, and 339 controls.

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  • Psychopathology data collected via direct child interviews.
  • Family environment data gathered through maternal reports.

    • Main Results:

    • Physical disabilities were linked to increased depressive symptoms and inattention.
    • Family environment significantly impacted depressive symptoms, with no differential effect between disabled and control children.
    • Family environment did not significantly affect inattention symptoms in disabled children.

    Conclusions:

    • The study found no support for the vulnerability hypothesis.
    • Brain dysfunction in children with physical conditions does not appear to increase vulnerability to environmental stress.
    • Psychopathology in these children may arise from factors other than increased environmental stress susceptibility.