Parent-Child Communication and Harmful Behavior

Running head: PARENT-CHILD COMMUNICATION AND HARMFUL BEHAVIOR
Parent-child communication and harmful behavior
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1PARENT-CHILD COMMUNICATION AND HARMFUL BEHAVIOR
The article titled, “Childhood communication enhances brain development, protecting
against harmful behaviors” published online claims that enhanced communication between
parents and children in the early phases of development would have an impact on the attitudes
and behaviors in the long run. More specifically, the article claims that clear lines of
communication between parents and children would reduce chances of alcohol misuse and
emotional eating as adults (Sciencedaily.com, 2018). The following essay critically analyzes the
claims made by the online article.
The study, which was conducted by Biological Psychiatry, was conducted over a period
of 14 years. During this period, the researchers studied participants between the ages of 11 and
25 and studied how communication between them and their parents in the early years of their
lives affected their behavioral patterns as adults. The key assumption of the article is that
communication between children and parents would promote the brain network development of
children and would improve their processing of stimuli and rewards. This, in turn, would reduce
chances of alcohol and drug addiction and overconsumption of food or eating disorders
(Sciencedaily.com, 2018). In other words, it can be assumed that the communication patterns
between children and parents would have an impact on the way their brains are wired, which
would determine their health related behaviors in adulthood. It is imperative to note that the
study mainly focused on African American communities. This is because it is assumed that these
communities usually suffer from adverse health behavioral tendencies during young adulthood
(Sciencedaily.com, 2018). The article also makes the assumption that a strong bond between
parents and children in the early adolescent years would result in greater connectivity of the
anterior salience network or ASN, which determines the wiring of the brain. This further resulted
in optimized brain development for the adolescents, which prevented the aforementioned

2PARENT-CHILD COMMUNICATION AND HARMFUL BEHAVIOR
harmful health related behavior. Essentially, the article claims that good communication skills
(based on principles of trust and honesty) which is an integral aspect of good parenting, would
reduce chances of eating disorders and addictions in adulthood. It can also be claimed that
positive and healthy relationships between children and their parents in the formative years
would result in more positive behavioral approaches in the long run (Lee & Kim, 2013). On the
other hand, people who come from families where parents and their children are not on good
terms or are unable to share their thoughts and feelings freely are more prone to harmful
behaviors (Keijsers & Poulin, 2013). Such people thus often develop body image issues, which
may lead to eating disorders, depressive symptoms (which are also characterized by eating
disorders or overconsumption of food) and reliance on alcohol and similar substances.
In order to understand the validity of the claim made in the article, it is important to first
understand the strengths and weaknesses of the claims and assumptions made by the authors.
The study mainly focused on rural African American families. The study followed its subjects
from early adolescent years, namely 11 to 13 years, to adulthood, namely 25 years old. The level
of communication with parents was assessed in the case of all subjects, at both phases (both early
adolescence and adulthood). A functional magnetic resonance imaging or FMRI was used on the
subjects once they turned 25 in order to evaluate their ASN. The use of alcohol and other
substances, along with eating patterns, were also studied at this age. The results showed that
higher levels of communication in the early years resulted in a better resting state functional
connectivity at the age of 25 amongst these subjects. On the contrary, subjects who were not as
free with their parents suffered from harmful health related behaviors as adults. Through such a
thorough research, the authors are able to affirm the hypothesis that good parenting and
communication in childhood and adolescence would certain lead to positive adaptive behaviors