Authors: Tyler Phillips (Research Psychologist & Research and Content Consultant) and Dr Etienne van der Walt (Neurologist and CEO & founder of Neurozone®)
As parents and caregivers, we naturally want to protect children from hardship. But life isn’t always smooth, and many children do face difficulties—whether that’s family conflict, illness, financial strain, or other forms of stress. Interestingly, while too much adversity in childhood can increase the risk of anxiety and other mental health struggles later in life, research has also found that some exposure to adversity—at the right time and in the right amount—may actually strengthen resilience.
A recent Yale University study sheds light on how the timing and degree of adversity in childhood can influence whether it becomes a risk factor for anxiety or a resilience-builder for the future.
How the Brain Learns “Threat” and “Safety”
One of the ways adversity affects us is through the brain’s ability to distinguish between genuine threats and safe situations. If this system works well, we react with fear when it’s appropriate (e.g., stepping back from a speeding car) but feel safe when there’s no real danger. If the system is disrupted, as can happen with anxiety, the brain may sound the alarm even when there’s no threat—leaving a person on edge, tense, or fearful without reason.
Several brain regions are involved in this “threat versus safety discrimination,” including the:
These areas develop at different ages. The amygdala and hippocampus mature early in childhood, while the prefrontal structures continue developing into young adulthood. This means that the timing of adversity matters, because developing structures are more vulnerable to its effects than mature structures. Stress at different ages affects different brain systems to different degrees.
What the Study Found
Researchers interviewed 120 young adults (aged 18–30) about their exposure to adversity across four life stages:
They also measured anxiety symptoms and used brain scans (fMRI) to see how well participants’ brains distinguished between threat and safety.
Three clear profiles emerged:
The most striking finding was that Profile 2 (those who faced some challenges in middle childhood and adolescence) had the significantly lowest anxiety symptoms. Profiles with high adversity and low adversity had similarly high anxiety levels.
What This Means
A moderate amount of hardship during ages 6 to 17 might not impair the brain’s ability to discriminate between threat and safety, and might actually help children build resilience to anxiety as adults. The ability can be impaired—and adult anxiety can be more likely—if there is a high degree of hardship across childhood, perhaps especially including the first 5 years. However, despite experiencing little childhood adversity, profile 1 shows that anxiety is a complex clinical condition influenced by more than an intact or disrupted ability to distinguish between threat and safety.
Why This Matters
This pattern might reflect what scientists call a U-shaped relationship between stress and resilience:
This finding may be especially relevant for parents. It suggests that while protecting children is vital, occasional manageable adversity—when paired with support and guidance—may actually help prepare them for the future.
The Bigger Picture
Of course, this doesn’t mean we should seek out adversity for children. Rather, it highlights that children can benefit more when caregivers help them process difficulties, instead of shielding them entirely.
Perspectives on our past challenges are also important. For adults reflecting on their own childhoods, recognizing that some adversity at certain times may have strengthened resilience can be empowering. At Neurozone®, our Resilience Index asks adults to reflect on their early life experiences. While none of us can time-travel, we can interpret these experiences more resiliently.
Neurozone® also offers a means to monitor adolescent well-being. The Adolescent Resilience Index assesses teens’ current perceptions of hardship. Since this may be a critical window for building resilience, paying attention to how much stress teenagers are under (and helping them manage it) may protect them against future anxiety.
Takeaway
For those of us who have experienced hardship in childhood, or are worried about the safety of our children now, this research offers a hopeful message: some adversity, at the right time and in the right dose, can be part of building resilience. It’s not about eliminating every obstacle, but about supporting children (and ourselves) to face challenges with resources, perspective, and care. This support can lay the groundwork for stronger mental health and a lower risk of anxiety.