Love to snuggle your kids? Call them pet names? Slip little notes into their lunch boxes to remind them that you love them? It turns out indulging your instinct to wrap your little ones in affection may be the best ways to raise happy, well adjusted adults. A study recently published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health has found a direct correlation between levels of maternal affection during childhood and decreased anxiety, hostility and overall distress in adulthood.
The results were found as part of one of the few comprehensive studies that has tracked participants from childhood into adulthood. Psychologists rated the interactions between 500 mothers and their 8-month-old babies – giving a 1-10 judgement of how much affection each mother gave her child. One in ten were determined to have low levels of maternal affection, eighty five percent had “normal” levels of affection and six percent were judged to offer high levels of affection.
Three decades later, those babies, now at a mean age of 34, were analysed for specific elements of general distress, particularly anxiety and hostility. The results were clear, the higher you got on the maternal/primary care giver affection scale, the less anxious, hostile and generally distressed the adult.
The authors of the study concluded that high levels maternal affection at a very young age led to children who were more likely to have strong attachments and secure bonds with others later in life – which is one of the key factors in mediating distress and coping with difficulty.
In a time when our attempts to raise children who can thrive as adults seem to lead to a new “must have” parenting item or private lesson around every corner, it’s nice to find that the very best thing you can do to raise a happy adult is free and in limitless supply.
