Early Life Factors Linked to Adolescent Anxiety

In a Perspective, Mark Hanson and Peter Gluckman explore how maternal stress, caregiving quality, and early environmental conditions can shape the development of executive functions and emotional regulation in children, and how these factors contribute to the emergence of anxiety disorders in young people. Mounting evidence reveals a significant rise in anxiety disorders among adolescents ages 12 to 19, especially in developing countries like the United States, which cannot be fully explained by contemporary stressful events like the COVID-19 pandemic. This pattern suggests that broader longer-term societal or developmental factors are driving the growing prevalence of adolescent anxiety. Here, Hanson and Gluckman highlight how environmental conditions in the earliest stages of life – beginning even before birth – can significantly shape a child's developing brain, particularly the systems responsible for emotional regulation and executive functioning. According to the authors, these early cues may "prepare" children for adversity, but if the anticipated threats never fully materialize as they grow, such heightened emotional responses may lead to anxiety disorders, especially in adolescence. This mismatch is further compounded by the rapid and dynamic social and technological changes young people now face. "Societies face an emerging burden of mental health issues, especially in young people. Although appropriate interventions are needed to help those already affected, preventative approaches are also critical," write Hanson and Gluckman. "Solutions will need to adopt a lifecourse perspective, involving more cohesive thinking about parental and caregiver support and the early childhood years by policymakers across health, education, and social welfare."