Prenatal Development and Care

Certain things that occur in the prenatal phases can have an influence on adolescents social and emotional development. Some factors are stress, mental health, nutrition, and even substance exposures can have an effect on the fetus's growth which can have major impacts on their social and emotional development. Buss et al., (2012) find that higher maternal cortisol concentrations in early gestation are associated with larger right amygdala volume in girls at 7 years, which is consistent with the suggestion that negative emotions are predominantly processed in the right-hand side of the amygdala. During early childhood they can face neglect, abuse and stress which can affect their social and emotional development. This can cause them to not be able to regulate their own emotions, difficulty with relationships and face peer interaction challenges.