The environment in which a child is raised shapes the foundation on which physical, physiological and social wellbeing are built.

1. How to counteract the self-perpetuating cycle of violence

Another challenge concerns how to counteract our inborn, evolutionarily conserved, tendency to stereotype the other during times of threat and conflict and the vicious and, at times, create a self-perpetuating cycle of violence that can occur in regions of conflict (you hurt or threaten me, I will do the same to you). This self-perpetuating cycle of violence can and does occur across generations (if a child’s parents were harsh and limited in their positive responses, then that child as an adolescent/adult will do the same in the future).

When a child is exposed to violence, the impact of the experience can last throughout the child’s life and the consequences can spread for generations to come. But if that same child is nurtured in a safe and stimulating environment, the child has the potential to thrive. The environment in which a child is raised has a profound impact on every aspect of growth and development, and significant implications for the way that the child will interact and engage with the world. Children living in conflict—whether limited to the home or present throughout the community—are at risk to perpetuate as adults the landscape of violence to which they became accustomed in childhood. Breaking the cycle is the only way to move toward a more peaceful and harmonious existence.

2. How best to address our tribal nature, especially given the media’s predilection to frightened us?

Our affiliative and our stress response circuits are closely interconnected. When we are under threat, our natural response is to want to be with those we are closest to and we begin to see ‘other’ as fundamentally ‘different’ and stereotype members of that group as a threat.  Sadly, the media’s tendency to report and track frightening events often magnifies and reinforces this tendency. As a result, members of ‘other’ groups can be regarded with a negative bias of suspicion and fear based solely on their ethnic, religious, racial, or national identity. This evolutionarily conserved tendency is intensified during conflicts and can be difficult to counteract.

Recommended Reading

Carter, C.S., Porges, S.W. (Nov 2014). Peptide Pathways to Peace. In J. Leckman, C. Panter-Brick, R. Salah (Eds.), Pathways to Peace: The transformative power of children and families (pp. 64-85). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.