Highlights
- •Children experience stress daily, which may be exacerbated by major events such as pandemics.
- •Stress in childhood may have lasting detrimental effects through adulthood.
- •There are many ways to classify and measure stress in children.
- •Healthcare providers and clinicians need to recognize and measure stress in children.
Abstract
Problem
Stress in children remains a complex concept to examine due to the inherent subjectivity
and lack of specific manifestations, as well as the multiple ways stress can be defined
and measured in children. Because stress is multifactorial,is experienced daily by
children, and undergirds adolescent health and early mental illness, it is crucial
to have a clear understanding of stress and the effects of stress in children from
infancy through age twelve years.
Eligibility criteria
To be included in this review, literature must pertain to and highlight theories,
definitions/classifications, and measurements of stress in children from infancy to
12 years of age.
Sample
The most pertinent articles identified through database searches (PubMed, Scopus,
PsycINFO, CINAHL, Google Scholar), gray literature sources (e.g., child health websites),
and reference lists of identified articles were included in this narrative overview.
Results
The results of this review are organized by themes and include: classifications and
definitions of stress, stress-related theories, and tools to measure stress in children.
Conclusions
Research addressing stressors and stress in children is limited, and there is wide
variation in how researchers define and classify stress in children. Existing measures
of stress in children younger than 12 address physiological, psychological, and observational
components, but may be inconsistent and threaten validity of otherwise well-designed
and well-executed studies.
Implications
Improving the understanding and accurate measurement of stress in children enables
researchers and clinicians to curtail undesirable health outcomes.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 19, 2022
Accepted:
July 8,
2022
Received in revised form:
June 30,
2022
Received:
February 18,
2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
