Disruption and Continuity in Early Relational Health and Flourishing

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Dyadic Neuroscience Social-Emotional Development Flourishing Disruption and Continuity in ERH and Flourishing ERH in Practice Longitudinal Study of ERH

Research seeking to understand the connection among biology, lived experiences, and health outcomes has found that Early Relational Health can prevent, or buffer against, the effects of trauma and adversity for young children. At the same time, Early Relational Health can be disrupted by various factors, including structural factors like racism and systemic inequities as well as individual experiences like trauma and poverty. These stressors can interfere with a family’s capacity to establish and sustain positive Early Relational Health.

What Research Tells Us:

  1. Early Relational Health can be a powerful protective factor against negative outcomes associated with childhood adversity and other social and structural risk factors. 
  2. At the same time, Early Relational Health can also be disrupted by those experiences.
  3. A parent’s own traumatic experiences, whether shared with their child or not, may have an influence on a child’s symptoms of trauma. Support for parents with traumatic experiences benefits both the parents and their relationships with children.
  4. Early relational health develops through a complex, dynamic, and cumulative process that includes a child’s genetic predisposition and social, physical, community, and societal experiences.

What Factors Can Disrupt or Promote Early Relational Health?

  • Social and contextual factors such as poverty, structural racism, discrimination, lack of access to resources and supports, food and housing insecurity, and neighborhood violence can create significant stressors on families, impacting their capacity to establish and sustain positive Early Relational Health.
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) like abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction disrupt the development of secure attachments. This disruption can lead to difficulties in forming and maintaining healthy relationships in childhood and beyond. 
  • Positive Childhood Experiences (PCE) like family support, community connections, and school belonging protect and extend the development of healthy relationships. A relational ecology serves as an important buffer against societal and external threats to well-being.

How Is Early Relational Health a Protective Factor?

  • Early Relational Health acts as a protective factor by building resilience and buffering against the negative impact of adverse experiences. Here’s how Early Relational Health acts as a protective factor for young children:
    • Responsive interactions like “serve and return” between young children and their caregivers foster co-regulation and reduce stress, thus protecting their bodies and brains from the harmful effects of chronic or repeated stress. Positive early relationships can impact how children’s bodies respond to stress at the molecular level, helping them manage stress in healthier ways over their lifespan.
    • Early Relational Health is foundational for developing healthy brains, building resilience and social skills, supporting emotional regulation, and developing healthy and effective approaches to manage stress and repair from adversities.
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