Peer-reviewed article
Early adversities, family support, and child well‐being: The moderating role of environmental sensitivity
Sara Scrimin, Gabriele Osler, Tiziana Pozzoli, Ughetta Moscardino ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5The study looked at 227 children (average age about 7) and their parents. Parents and children were interviewed about childhood adversities, family support, child well-being and the child's sensitivity to the environment. More family adversities were linked to lower physical and emotional comfort and lower perceived academic performance. Family support was linked to better well-being. Children with higher environmental sensitivity were more affected by both stressful and supportive environments in some areas.
Key points
- The number of family adversities was negatively associated with children's physical and emotional comfort and perceived academic performance.
- Supportive resources provided by the family were positively related to child well-being.
- Environmental sensitivity moderated these links, strengthening the negative effects of a stressful environment on physical and social functioning.
- Environmental sensitivity also increased the positive effect of a supportive environment on children's social performance.
- The authors say the data support a diathesis–stress model and suggest clinical support for highly sensitive children in aversive environments.
Limitations
The abstract describes an interview-based association study with 227 children, so it cannot show cause and effect or whether the results hold in other groups. It does not say where in Italy the sample was drawn or how well-being was measured beyond interviews.
Abstract
Abstract Background Children's well‐being in terms of physical, emotional, social, and academic outcomes is largely influenced by environmental characteristics, with the presence of childhood adversities constituting a risk factor, and support provided by the family working as a protective factor. Yet the role of individual differences in children's sensitivity to environmental influences in these relations is still underexplored; following the differential susceptibility model, it could be a potential moderator. Methods Participants were 227 children (mean age 7.05 years) and their parents, who were interviewed on the number of experienced childhood adversities and family supportive resources, as well as on child well‐being and environmental sensitivity. Results Path analysis showed that, as expected, the number of family adversities was negatively associated with children's physical and emotional comfort and perceived academic performance, whereas supportive resources provided by the family were positively related to child well‐being. Of importance, children's environmental sensitivity moderated these associations emphasizing the negative effects of a stressful environment on physical and social functioning and increasing the positive effect of a supportive environment on children's social performance. Conclusions The present data lend support to a diathesis–stress model, with highly sensitive children being more susceptible to both negative and positive environmental influences in relation to well‐being. Interventions may focus on providing clinical support to these children in the context of particularly aversive environments.