Prenatal and Early Childhood Care Effects on Adolescent Social and Emotional Development
The care that children receive in the prenatal and early childhood stages of development can have a significant impact on their social and emotional development as adolescents. Negative experiences such as neglect, abuse, stress, violence, and trauma like being removed from their home can affect children's memories as well as cause physiological disruptions leading to poor social and emotional development. "Research has consistently found poorer outcomes in adolescents who have been exposed to early interpersonal adversities, especially those in out-of-home placements" (Maneiro et. al, 2023). There are many different outcomes for adolescents as a result of negative experiences in the early stages of child development that include aggressive or impulsive behaviors, depression, substance abuse, loneliness, criminality as an adult, and sensory or cognitive impairments. Children who have been directly impacted by negative social and emotional events in the prenatal and early childhood developmental stages are more likely to suffer adverse effects into adolescence and beyond.
