S7 Ep8: Mind the Kids 'Protecting Mental Health, the Power of Positive'
About this episode
This episode discusses the connection between early life adversity and positive affect in childhood, exploring how resilience can be fostered in young people.
Why do so many studies – and headlines – focus on what goes wrong in childhood, when some young people go through adversity and still find ways to thrive? In this episode of Mind the Kids , 'Protecting Mental Health, the Power of Positive' , Dr. Jamie Hanson talks to hosts Dr. Jane Gilmour and Prof Umar Toseeb , about how early life adversity, positive affect, and internalizing difficulties like anxiety and depression are connected over time, using data from the large ABCD cohort in the United States. They unpack what counts as “early life adversity” beyond classic ACEs, what psychologists really mean by positive affect (and why it is not just the absence of negative mood), and how different trajectories of positivity across middle childhood may help explain which young people are most at risk – and who might be buffered. The conversation moves from theory to practice: why optimism and joy are trainable, how strength‑based programmes and everyday passions (sport, music, clubs, “the best apple I’ve ever had”) can support resilience, and what this all means for schools, policymakers, and anyone trying to help children grow after difficult early experiences. You can read the main…
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