Early parenting shapes teenagers' brain health

What the research found

A 2023 study of 66 young people aged 12 to 14 looked at how parents behaved during an interaction with their teen, then compared this with brain structure. Parents' negative emotion was linked to a larger left hippocampus. Positive emotion showed no link. Some results differed between boys and girls.

A 2022 review of early brain-scan studies found that more negative parenting and less positive parenting were generally linked to stronger activity in brain networks involved in emotional arousal when children and teens were shown negative emotional material. The review describes these as associations, not cause and effect.

A 2018 systematic review found 40 randomised trials of programs for children facing adversity. They measured biological markers such as stress hormones (cortisol) and neurological outcomes. Australia's NHMRC says infancy is a vital period of very rapid neurological growth, and that interventions in this period may have large benefits across a child's life. None of this directly shows that early parenting shapes teenage brain health.

What it doesn’t mean

• This does not mean parents who find early parenting hard have harmed their child's brain. The studies show patterns across groups, not what will happen in one family.
• A difference in a brain scan does not on its own tell us whether a teenager's brain is healthy or unhealthy. Development involves biological, psychosocial and environmental factors, not parenting alone.
• If you are worried about your child's development, mood or behaviour, talk to your GP or child health nurse.