Reacción a "An article suggests that very early childhood factors may contribute to increased anxiety in adolescents"

The article argues that anxiety in children and adolescents may have deep roots in very early stages of development, even as early as pregnancy. From a developmental and evolutionary perspective, the authors explain that environmental stimuli -such as maternal stress, caregiver-child interactions and the use of technology- can induce adaptive responses in the infant brain that, if they do not correspond to future environments, can become maladaptive. This phenomenon is referred to as “adaptive maladjustment”.  

As all studies show, anxiety disorders in young people have increased in developed countries and in the authors' view cannot be attributed solely to recent events such as the pandemic. Rather, the authors link this increase to social, technological and cultural changes that have created environments for which human development is not fully prepared. Their interpretation leads them to propose that addressing this problem requires preventive actions focused on early childhood and an integrated approach to health, education and social welfare policies.  

This article represents a valuable contribution to the contemporary approach to child development by articulating developmental biology, neuroscience and social analysis. By shifting the explanation of anxiety disorders from immediate factors to early developmental trajectories, it underscores the need to understand juvenile anxiety not only as an individual pathology, but as a symptom of a desynchronization between brain development and cultural environment.  

The concept of “adaptive maladjustment” is particularly powerful, as it allows us to think of anxiety as a logical response to an environment that the organism interpreted as dangerous from very early stages. Society's responsibility, therefore, is twofold: first, to create safe and emotionally rich prenatal and postnatal environments, and second, to reduce the gap between what the environment communicates to the child and what he or she will actually experience in later life.    

From a public policy perspective, the article challenges the educational, health and social protection systems to rethink their role in the promotion of mental health from early childhood. This implies strengthening the training of professionals, ensuring quality care in childhood and reducing the social inequalities that amplify risks. Their approach proposes that solutions should adopt a life course perspective, with more integrated policies to support parents, caregivers and early childhood.  

The quality of the emotional environment in which young children develop, including active adult-child interactions inside and outside the home, is essential. Education policies alone cannot meet this challenge, as they have little focus on the preschool stage. Health and social policies will need to address the increasing prevalence of stress and mental health problems in women before and during pregnancy, and also in their partners, if these problems are to be avoided in future generations. The cost to society of not rethinking this approach to emotional development in childhood may be enormous. In short, the article provides a solid basis for redirecting preventive efforts toward a key stage of human development and for understanding anxiety disorders not only clinically, but also structurally, culturally, and evolutionarily.  

The hypothesis they propose has a high level of interest and is supported by the previous studies they cite. However, the authors do not provide empirical evidence for their formulation. Nevertheless, they very sensibly emphasize the prevention of maternal stress, quality early childhood interactions between caregiver and child (socioemotional support and stimulation) and the appropriate use of technology as preventive bases, which can effectively moderate infant-juvenile anxiety.