For young children to have tantrums it is natural, and many parents even refer to this stage of their children as the “terrible twos” and the “terrible threes”, because it is usually at those ages when they get the most angry, but, as As they grow, that irritability decreases. However, some children are unable to control their tantrums and a new study led by University College London (UCL) suggests that interventions that help parents and carers support children with high irritability could help reduce the risk. future of mental illness.
Previous studies had shown that irritability in late childhood increased the risk of future depression, but it was unknown whether irritability during early childhood was equally important. Identifying a higher risk marker sooner would provide more opportunities to design interventions that could prevent mental health problems in the future. The new findings have been published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP).
The impact of persistent irritability in childhood
The new research was based on data from 7,225 children who took part in the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative birth cohort study led by UCL of people born between 2000 and 2002. Parents responded to questions about child irritability. their children at ages three, five, and seven, and adolescents reported depressive symptoms and self-harm at age 14.
“The findings emphasize the importance of early childhood for emotional development”
The researchers found that children whose irritability did not decrease between the ages of three and seven experienced higher levels of depression and self-harm in adolescence, while if they only showed irritability at three years of age, this was not associated with later depression.
“This study suggests that, while some degree of irritability is part of normal childhood development, we can identify children who struggle with persistent irritability as young as five years old, thus providing an opportunity for prevention and early intervention,” he said. Dr Ramya Srinivasan, UCL Department of Psychiatry and lead author.
“The findings emphasize the importance of early childhood for emotional development. Support for parents of young children has been reduced in many countries in recent years and has been substantially disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. This is worrying and a possible lost opportunity,” concludes the expert.
