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Cited by 386Stress Responses and CortisolChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentChild Abuse and Trauma

Stress and the development of self-regulation in context

Open access
Blair, Clancy·2010·Child Development Perspectives
DOI 10.1111/j.1750-8606.2010.00145.xPMC PMC3138186
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Abstract

This article considers the effects of psychosocial stress on child development and describes mechanisms through which early stress in the context of poverty affects the functioning of neural networks that underlie executive functions and self-regulation. It examines the effects of early experience on glucocorticoid and catecholamine levels that influence neural activity in areas of the brain associated with executive functions, primarily as studied in animal models. Finally, it considers the strengths and limitations of this research, its relevance to understanding stress reactivity from the perspective of biological sensitivity to context, and the implications for the study of risk and resilience processes and early intervention to prevent developmental delays.

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This review argues that early psychosocial stress, especially in poverty, can shape stress-response systems and prefrontal-limbic circuitry underlying executive function and self-regulation. It emphasizes that stress reactivity is not inherently harmful; outcomes depend on the quality of caregiving and context.

Key findings

  • Animal models show that chronic prenatal or early neonatal stress increases stress reactivity and disrupts regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, with effects on limbic structures and prefrontal cortex areas important for executive functions and self-regulation.
  • Glucocorticoid and catecholamine levels follow an inverted-U relationship with executive functions: moderate increases support executive function, while very high or very low levels are linked to deficits; this parallels the Yerkes-Dodson arousal-performance principle for complex tasks.
  • Context determines whether high reactivity is beneficial or risky: supportive, resource-rich caregiving is associated with better-regulated stress physiology and reflective self-regulation, whereas low-support, unpredictable environments are associated with reactive behavior and poorer self-regulation.
  • In a predominantly low-income longitudinal sample, infants whose mothers were highly sensitive had lower baseline cortisol and lower cortisol reactivity at 7 months, and reduced overall cortisol at 15 months; animal enrichment studies show behavioral and cognitive reversal of early stress effects, though not always matching neural changes.

Methods

  • This is a conceptual review, not a new empirical study; it synthesizes animal-model and human research on stress, caregiving, poverty, brain development, and self-regulation.
  • The main analysis is narrative integration of findings on HPA-axis function, glucocorticoid and catecholamine effects on prefrontal cortex, executive function, differential susceptibility, biological sensitivity to context, and early intervention.
  • Human evidence discussed includes studies of children in poverty and a longitudinal low-income sample with cortisol measures at 7 and 15 months.

Limitations

  • The author states that although animal models are compelling because of their specificity and control, the extent to which their neural and physiological mechanisms operate in human populations remains uncertain, and human development involves broader and more diverse influences.
  • The author notes additional influences on neural plasticity beyond early care, including enriched-environment activity and genetic background, and calls for gene-environment and epigenetic research.
  • Evident from the text: catecholamine–executive function relations in children have not been demonstrated because noninvasive assessment is difficult; whether chronic early stress affects children’s stress-response systems to the same degree as in animal models is not yet established.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1111/j.1750-8606.2010.00145.x

Cites

102 of 102 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

0 of 91 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • Premisecitation

    Persistently elevated physiological reactivity to stress is associated with adverse physical and mental health outcomes over the lifespan.

    “Studies have linked persistently elevated levels of physiological reactivity to stress with adverse physical and mental health outcomes across the lifespan (McEwen, 2000)”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites McEwen, 2000 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Interpretationnone given

    In unpredictable settings with scarce resources or frequent social conflict, more reactive and less reflective cognition and behavior are likely to be adaptive and to yield short-term benefits.

    “In unpredictable environments in which resources are scarce or social conflict is high, more reactive and less reflective patterns of cognition and behavior are likely to be adaptive and to result in short-term benefits if not longer term health and self-regulation benefits.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Premisecitation

    Stress is one of several mediating pathways by which lower socioeconomic status raises the risk of poor physical and mental health.

    “It is prominent among the several mediating mechanisms through which risk for poor physical and mental health increases in inverse relation to socioeconomic status (SES; Adler et al., 1994).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Adler et al., 1994 source

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  • Premisecitation

    Income poverty and low socioeconomic status are linked to children's health and development.

    “a number of studies have definitively linked income poverty and low SES to children’s health and development (McLeod & Shanahan, 1993; McLoyd, 1998).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites McLeod & Shanahan, 1993

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    • cites McLoyd, 1998 source

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  • Premisecitation

    Until recently, research had not deeply examined stress as part of the link between poverty and child development.

    “Until recently, however, the field has lacked in-depth examination of stress as an aspect of the link between poverty and child development (Evans, 2003).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Evans, 2003 source

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  • May combine two claims. 23
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 2

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    In animal models, chronic stress during prenatal and/or very early neonatal periods increases stress reactivity and impairs regulation of the HPA axis.

    “Animal models have demonstrated that chronic stress in the prenatal and/or very early neonatal periods (demonstrated through manipulations that directly increase the physiological response to stress) leads to increased stress reactivity and to poor regulation of stress reactivity in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis component of the stress response system”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Francis, Diorio, Liu, & Meaney, 1999 source

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    • cites Huizink, Mulder, & Buitelaar, 2004

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    • cites Liu et al., 1997 source

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  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    In high-risk environments, higher stress reactivity is likely to occur without support for regulating it and to produce poor developmental outcomes.

    “In high-risk environments, however, higher reactivity is likely to occur without support for the regulation of reactivity and to lead to poor developmental outcomes.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    High reactivity to stress by itself does not create risk and may improve development when contexts are supportive.

    “High reactivity to stress on its own does not confer risk and may even enhance development in supportive contexts (Boyce & Ellis, 2005).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Boyce & Ellis, 2005 source

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  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Economic adversity is associated with disruptions in parenting behaviors, and parental psychological distress is linked to poor cognitive and behavioral outcomes in children.

    “Several studies have demonstrated that economic adversity is associated with disruptions in parenting behaviors and that psychological distress in parents is linked to poor cognitive and behavioral outcomes in children (Brody & Flor, 1998; Jackson, Brooks-Gunn, Huang, & Glassman, 2000).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Brody & Flor, 1998

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    • cites Jackson, Brooks-Gunn, Huang, & Glassman, 2000

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  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Glucocorticoid receptors are less sensitive than mineralocorticoid receptors; moderate glucocorticoid increases raise GR occupation and support synaptic long-term potentiation, while higher stress-related glucocorticoid increases are associated with long-term depression.

    “Similarly, of the two types of glucocorticoid receptors in the brain, glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralocorticoid (MR), GRs are less sensitive to glucocorticoids than MRs and therefore remain largely unoccupied at low levels of stress arousal. However, with increasing stress and moderate glucocorticoid increase, GR occupation increases, supporting synaptic long-term potentiation. Increases in glucoc”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites de Kloet, Oitzl, & Joels, 1999

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    • cites Erickson, Drevets, & Schulkin, 2003

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  • May combine two claims.

    Premisereasoning

    No studies to date have demonstrated relations between catecholamine levels and executive functions in children because noninvasive catecholamine assessment is difficult.

    “Although similar relations likely exist between catecholamine levels and EFs in children, no studies to date have demonstrated these relations because of the difficulty of noninvasively assessing catecholamine levels.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    In supportive contexts, early high stimulation produces physiology conducive to reflective self-regulation; in unsupportive, less predictable contexts, it produces physiology conducive to high behavioral reactivity and low reflective self-regulation.

    “In supportive contexts, this stimulation results in the development of physiology that is conducive to reflective self-regulation, whereas in unsupportive, less predictable contexts, it leads to the development of physiology that is conducive to high behavioral reactivity and low reflective self-regulation.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Moderate norepinephrine increases occupy high-affinity adrenoceptors in prefrontal cortex linked to executive function; higher increases saturate these and activate lower-affinity adrenoceptors in subcortical and posterior regions.

    “For example, moderate increases in norepinephrine (NE), a primary neuromodulator associated with the sympathetic-adrenal system, result in increased occupation of a specific type of adrenoceptor that has a high affinity for NE and is predominantly located in PFC and associated with EF (Ramos & Arnsten, 2007). At increases beyond a moderate level, however, this type of receptor becomes saturated”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Ramos & Arnsten, 2007

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  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Early experience programs stress response systems to be more or less sensitive to stress hormones, with consequences for brain areas involved in self-regulation.

    “Research in animal models indicates that early experience programs the development of stress response systems to make them more or less sensitive to stress hormones, with implications for the structure and function of brain areas important for the self-regulation of cognition and behavior (Meaney, 2001).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Meaney, 2001 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Increased allostatic load is apparent in children living in poverty in response to chronic environmental stressors and is related to health outcomes.

    “increased allostatic load is apparent in response to chronic environmental stressors in children living in poverty and similarly related to health outcomes (Evans & Kim, 2007).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Evans & Kim, 2007

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  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Children in more supportive contexts are more likely to regulate stress reactivity efficiently than children in less supportive contexts, although both groups are stress reactive.

    “Although children in both contexts are stress reactive, those in more supportive contexts are more likely to exhibit efficient regulation of stress reactivity.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    In animal models, disrupting prefrontal corticolimbic connectivity or inducing stress lowers performance on executive-function tasks and increases reactive, inflexible behavior.

    “In these models, targeted disruptions of PFC corticolimbic connectivity through lesion, transient inactivation, and pharmacological manipulation as well as stress induction procedures result in lower performance on tasks requiring EFs (Cerqueira, Mailliet, Almeida, Jay, & Sousa, 2007; Collins, Roberts, Dias, Everitt, & Robbins, 1998; Floresco, Seamans, & Phillips, 1997; Goldstein, Rasmusson, Bun”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Cerqueira, Mailliet, Almeida, Jay, & Sousa, 2007 source

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    • cites Collins, Roberts, Dias, Everitt, & Robbins, 1998

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    • cites Floresco, Seamans, & Phillips, 1997

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  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    In the Yerkes-Dodson principle, moderate arousal improves performance on complex tasks, while very high or very low arousal impairs it.

    “In the Yerkes-Dodson principle, arousal at moderate levels increases performance on complex tasks but at very high or very low levels impairs performance.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Yerkes & Dodson, 1908 source

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  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Extended maternal separation and low maternal behaviors in rats are associated with stress regulation problems and adverse cognitive and behavioral outcomes in offspring.

    “research in behavioral neuroscience has demonstrated that extended maternal separation and low levels of maternal specific maternal behaviors in rats are associated with problems with stress regulation and adverse cognitive and behavioral outcomes in offspring (Meaney, 2001).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Meaney, 2001 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Brief maternal separation/handling of rat pups increases maternal licking and grooming, which promotes hippocampal GR receptor gene expression, an efficient HPA stress response, and advantageous cognitive and social outcomes in resource-adequate environments.

    “In contrast, brief maternal separation/handling of rat pups increases levels of maternal behaviors, notably licking and grooming upon reunion, that promote gene expression associated with the density of GR receptors in the hippocampus, the development of an efficient HPA stress response system, and what can be considered as advantageous cognitive and social developmental outcomes in typical env”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Caldji, Diorio, & Meaney, 2000

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    • cites Liu et al., 2000 source

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    • cites Liu et al., 1997 source

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  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Low-quality early caregiving is likely to be a primary source of stress for children or a mediator of environmental stressors, with stressful home conditions leading to parental stress and low-quality care.

    “Low-quality early caregiving is highly likely to serve as a primary source of stress for children or as a mediator of environmental stressors, with stressful social and physical conditions of the home leading to stress on parents and to low-quality early care.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Norepinephrine levels shape neural responses: moderate arousal promotes prefrontal activity for reflective responses, while high levels reduce prefrontal activity and increase activity in reactive, automatized brain areas.

    “In this way, levels of NE act to influence the neural response to stimulation, promoting neural activity in PFC associated with reflective and reasoned responses to stimulation at moderate levels of arousal, whereas at high levels, NE reduces neural activity in PFC and increases neural activity in brain areas associated with reactive, automatized responses to stimulation (Arnsten, 2000).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Arnsten, 2000 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Providing competent caregiving in early compensatory care and education would be expected in theory to affect developing self-regulation in children with high disrupted caregiving, partly mediated through stress reactivity and prefrontal functioning.

    “The provision of competent caregiving in early compensatory care and education would be expected, in theory, to have effects on developing self-regulation in children experiencing high levels of disrupted caregiving that are in part mediated through stress reactivity and PFC functioning.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Findings from animal models about early stress, prefrontal connectivity, and executive functions can be generalized to human children.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Early life stress, which occurs more often in poverty, would reduce developing self-regulation in highly reactive children and steer developmental trajectories toward poorer outcomes.

    “As a result, early life stress, which is more frequent in the context of poverty, would attenuate developing self-regulation in children characterized by high reactivity and begin to shape developmental trajectories toward nonoptimal outcomes.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Early life stress is more frequent in poverty.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Bredy et al. (2003) demonstrated that effects of low maternal caregiving competence on hippocampally dependent learning and memory could be reversed behaviorally by environmental enrichment, but hippocampal physiological function was not altered in expected ways.

    “Similarly, Bredy, Humpartzoomian, Cain, and Meaney (2003) demonstrated that the effects of low maternal caregiving competence on hippocampally dependent learning and memory could be reversed at the behavioral level through environmental enrichment but that the physiological function of the hippocampus was not altered in expected ways.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Bredy, Humpartzoomian, Cain, and Meaney, 2003

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    High stress reactivity is more likely to promote reflective self-regulation in high-quality care but reactive responses to stimulation in low-quality care.

    “This reactivity is more likely in high-quality care to promote aspects of cognition and behavior important for reflective self-regulation but in low-quality care to promote reactive responses to stimulation.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    It remains uncertain whether neural and physiological mechanisms linking stress, early caregiving, and developmental outcomes operate in human populations.

    “Although evidence from animal models is compelling because of its specificity and high level of control, the extent to which neural and physiological mechanisms relating stress, early caregiving, and developmental outcomes might be at work in human populations remains open to question.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Early compensatory education and care interventions that promote learning and help regulate reactivity through supportive, predictable, stimulating activities would be expected to enhance executive function and self-control, which contribute to later success.

    “Conversely, early compensatory education and care interventions to promote learning and increase the regulation of reactivity through various activities with caring and supportive others in a predictable, stimulating environment would be expected to promote competencies such as EF and self-control that are important contributors to ongoing success in life.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Chronic early rearing stress alters stress response system activity and thereby affects regulation of cognition and behavior.

    “Chronic early rearing stress affects the activity of stress response systems with consequences for the regulation of cognition and behavior.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Single nucleotide polymorphisms tied to glucocorticoid and catecholamine activity in prefrontal corticolimbic circuitry are associated with variation in executive function and possibly with susceptibility to early stress effects on cognition in humans.

    “Increasing numbers of studies in human populations indicate that single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with glucocorticoid and catecholamine activity in PFC corticolimbic circuitry are related to variation in EF and perhaps, to some extent, susceptibility to early stress effects on cognition (Hariri, Drabant, & Weinberger, 2006; Pezawas et al., 2005; Tan et al., 2007).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Hariri, Drabant, & Weinberger, 2006

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    • cites Pezawas et al., 2005 source

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    • cites Tan et al., 2007 source

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25 of 25

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Findings from animal models about early stress, prefrontal connectivity, and executive functions can be generalized to human children.

    “Relations among early experience, PFC connectivity, and EFs demonstrated in animal models are important for child development research in that EFs describe information processing abilities that allow for actively maintaining and processing task-relevant information in working memory”
    “Although early rearing environments for children differ in many ways from those of rats, the caregiving environment for children facing low SES is more likely than typical home environments to be disorganized and lacking in appropriate stimulation and support”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Early life stress is more frequent in poverty.

    “early life stress, which is more frequent in the context of poverty”
2 of 2

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • In supportive and structured environments, regulation of stress hormones occurs and facilitates reflective and flexible behavior and cognition, such as executive functions.

    “In supportive and structured environments, however, regulation of stress hormones would occur and facilitate reflective and flexible forms of behavior and cognition, such as executive functions (Blair, 2010).”

    From Salivary cortisol mediates effects of poverty and parenting on executive functions in early childhood (2011) · cites this paper as Blair, 2010

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Panksepp study has conflicting publication years

    Minor

    The text cites this study as published in 2002, but the matching reference lists 2003.

1 of 1

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Barnard, 1997, The effectiveness of early intervention, 249
  2. Bryant, 1997, The effectiveness of early intervention, 23
  3. Ramey, 1991, Children in poverty, 190
  4. Zelazo, 2002, Handbook of childhood cognitive development, 445

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Blair, C.
Affiliations
New York University (US)
Corresponding author
Blair, Clancy
ORCID
Blair, Clancy
Venue
Child Development Perspectives
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2010-11-15
Volume
4
Issue
3
Pages
181-188
ISSN
  • 1750-8592 (ISSN-L)
  • 1750-8606
DOI
10.1111/j.1750-8606.2010.00145.x
PMC
PMC3138186
OpenAlex
W1509600221
Semantic Scholar
e8bd68422006a96ca29c5f492938e1cb862229bd
Cited by
379
References
101
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 36 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 24
FWCI
6.89
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
academic.oup.com/pages/standard-publication-reuse-rights (vor)
Locations
  • Child Development Perspectives (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P01HD039667, R03HD039750, R01HD051502)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
Keywords
psychosocial stress, child development, self-regulation, executive function, poverty, glucocorticoids, catecholamines, artificial neural networks, stress reactivity, risk and resilience, developmental delay prevention, early intervention

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