The three-year study, published last Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics, tracked the emotional well-being of 7,329 children between the ages of five to 16 from 2004-07. It found that those who had been exposed to three or more stressful events since they were first surveyed were three times more likely to develop emotional disorders than those who had not.
Three per cent of the children surveyed who did not have an emotional or behavioural disorder in 2004 had developed one by 2007, with family, household and social characteristics strongly linked to their onset.
Emotional disorders included anxiety, depression and obsessions. Behavioral disorders were being awkward and troublesome or aggressive and antisocial.
The study also found that children who had suffered a serious or chronic illness since 2004 were twice as likely to develop emotional disorders than those who had not. Other factors associated with onset included family structure, with those living in single-parent households more likely to develop disorders, and the mental health of the mother.
The odds of developing an emotional disorder fell for those in a family of two children compared to families of one child, or three or more. Gender was also an issue, with 4 per cent of girls developing disorders compared to 3 per cent of boys.
The study also reviewed factors linked to the persistence of existing disorders. Thirty per cent of children who were diagnosed with emotional disorders in 2004 still had them by 2007, with family, household and social characteristics strongly linked to them.
Robin Balbernie, child psychotherapist, said, 'The findings of the research echo those of many other studies. The younger the child the more harmful the experience is, and the more it will imprint itself.
'A child's nervous system is flexible so it is more adaptable and can become misprogrammed. Children who grow up in secure, loving relationships will be more resilient because they have an internal resource to fall back on.'
Further information
Download 'Three years on: A survey of the emotional development and wellbeing of children and young people' at www.statistics.gov.uk.
