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Keating, Daniel P.

WORK TITLE: Born Anxious
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1949
WEBSITE:
CITY: Ann Arbor
STATE: MI
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:

https://lsa.umich.edu/psych/people/faculty/keatingd.html * http://www.soe.umich.edu/people/profile/keating_daniel/ * https://lsa.umich.edu/psych/people/faculty/keatingd.html

RESEARCHER NOTES:

PERSONAL

Born 1949.

EDUCATION:

Johns Hopkins University, Ph.D.

ADDRESS

  • Home - Ann Arbor, MI.
  • Office - University of Michigan, Department of Psychology, 2008 East Hall, 530 Church St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1043.

CAREER

University of Michigan, professor.

WRITINGS

  • (Editor) Mathematical Talent: Discovery, Description, and Development: Proceedings from the Hyman Blumberg Symposium on Research in Early Childhood Education, Johns Hopkins University Press (Baltimore, MD), 1974
  • (Editor) Intellectual Talent, Research and Development: Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Hyman Blumberg Symposium on Research in Early Childhood Education, Johns Hopkins University Press (Baltimore, MD), 1976
  • (Editor, with Hugh Rosen) Constructivist Perspectives on Developmental Psychopathology and Atypical Development, L. Erlbaum Associates (Hillsdale, NJ), 1991
  • (Editor, with Clyde Hertzman) Developmental Health and the Wealth of Nations: Social, Biological, and Educational Dynamics, Guilford Press (New York, NY), 1999
  • (Editor) Nature and Nurture in Early Child Development, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 2011
  • Born Anxious: The Lifelong Impact of Early Life Adversity—and How to Break the Cycle, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2017

Has contributed chapters to books, including Equity and Justice in Developmental Science: Theoretical and Methodological Issues, Academic Press (London, England), 2016, and The Developmental Science of Adolescence: History through Autobiography, Psychology Press (New York, NY), 2014. Has contributed articles to journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of ScienceInternational Journal of Behavioral Development,  and Child Development.

SIDELIGHTS

Daniel P. Keating is a professor of psychology, psychiatry, and pediatrics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. His profile at the university website notes that his “research focuses on integrating knowledge about developmental processes, population patterns in developmental health, and social factors affecting individual and population development.” Before taking a position at the University of Michigan, Keating conducted research at various institutions, among them, Berlin’s Max Planck Institute and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, where he was a fellow and spearheaded the program in human development.

Over the course of his long career, Keating has contributed articles to professional journals and chapters to academic texts in the field of psychology. He also edited several books, both on his own and with colleagues, including Nature and Nurture in Early Child Development. The chapters in this book show that neither nature (genetic factors, that is, biological inheritance) nor nurture (a person’s overall environment, along with life experiences and learning) alone control development. In interaction, both play a part in human development. As the book’s introduction puts it, the offerings come from “developmental scientists” at the “cutting edge,” working in areas “from neural mechanisms to population studies, and from basic laboratory science to clinical and community interventions.” J. Mercer, reviewing Nature and Nurture in Early Child Development in Choicefound the book most useful for academics and singled out the “handling of longitudinal and population studies and analytical methods and of practical concerns about parent-child psychotherapy and policy considerations.”

In 2017, Keating released Born Anxious: The Lifelong Impact of Early Life Adversity—and How to Break the Cycle, which continues and fine-tunes the study of nature versus nurture. Keating looks more closely at DNA research, specifically, a third factor, called “epigenetic methylation.” The publisher’s website describes it: “A key stress system has been welded into the ‘on’ position by the methylation process,” leading to a predisposition to the production of stress hormones and, as a result, “lifelong, unrelenting stress and its consequences–from school failure to nerve-wracking relationships.” Thus, it looks more and more likely that what happens in utero sets up the human being to experience extreme responses to stress, which are the exacerbated by social and economic factors.

Claire Nana, critiquing the book at Psych Central, focused on the research underpinning this startling argument. In the year before birth, the stress a mother undergoes actually imprints on the unborn child’s DNA. A child with the resulting “stress dysregulation” will exhibit behavioral problems and difficulty in learning. That, however, is not the entire story. Keating goes on to lay out a strategy to prevent or at least minimize the damage. Imposing routines and open communication can alleviate problems. In summary, Nana noted: “Keating has not just rewritten our understanding of stress, but the social mechanisms that drive it.” A Kirkus Reviews critic observed that Keating “posits that the consequences of a growing ‘stress epidemic’ are myriad and profound,” bleeding over into many parts of a person’s life and health.” Keating’s insights into the possibilities for change, however, make Born Anxious an “empowering guide.”

BIOCRIT

PERIODICALS

  • Choice, July, 2011, J. Mercer, review of Nature and Nurture in Early Child Development, p. 2194.

  • Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2017, review of Born Anxious: The Lifelong Impact of Early Life Adversity—and How to Break the Cycle.

ONLINE

  • Macmillan Website, https://us.macmillan.com (February 2, 2018),  brief book description.

  • Psych Central, https://psychcentral.com (July 24, 2017), Claire Nana, review of Born Anxious.

  • University of Michigan Website, https://lsa.umich.edu (February 1, 2018), author faculty profile.

  • Mathematical Talent: Discovery, Description, and Development: Proceedings from the Hyman Blumberg Symposium on Research in Early Childhood Education Johns Hopkins University Press (Baltimore, MD), 1974
  • Intellectual Talent, Research and Development: Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Hyman Blumberg Symposium on Research in Early Childhood Education Johns Hopkins University Press (Baltimore, MD), 1976
  • Constructivist Perspectives on Developmental Psychopathology and Atypical Development L. Erlbaum Associates (Hillsdale, NJ), 1991
  • Developmental Health and the Wealth of Nations: Social, Biological, and Educational Dynamics Guilford Press (New York, NY), 1999
  • Nature and Nurture in Early Child Development Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 2011
  • Born Anxious: The Lifelong Impact of Early Life Adversity—and How to Break the Cycle St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2017
1. Born anxious : the lifelong impact of early life adversity and how to break the cycle LCCN 2016052534 Type of material Book Personal name Keating, Daniel P., 1949- author. Main title Born anxious : the lifelong impact of early life adversity and how to break the cycle / Daniel P. Keating. Edition First edition. Published/Produced New York : St. Martin's Press, [2017] Projected pub date 1111 Description pages cm ISBN 9781250075048 (hardcover) CALL NUMBER BF575.A6 K43 2017 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms 2. Nature and nurture in early child development LCCN 2010030830 Type of material Book Main title Nature and nurture in early child development / edited by Daniel P. Keating. Published/Created Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2011. Description xv, 295 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. ISBN 9780521840408 (hardback) 0521840406 (hardback) CALL NUMBER BF341 .N377 2011 LANDOVR Copy 2 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms - STORED OFFSITE 3. Developmental health and the wealth of nations : social, biological, and educational dynamics LCCN 99022408 Type of material Book Main title Developmental health and the wealth of nations : social, biological, and educational dynamics / Daniel P. Keating, Clyde Hertzman, editors ; foreword by J. Fraser Mustard and Lewis P. Lipsitt. Published/Created New York : Guilford Press, c1999. Description xvi, 406 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. ISBN 1572304545 (hbk.) Links Contributor biographical information http://www.loc.gov/catdir/bios/guilford051/99022408.html Publisher description http://www.loc.gov/catdir/description/guilford051/99022408.html Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/guilford041/99022408.html Sample text http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0705/99022408-s.html CALL NUMBER RA418 .D49 1999 Copy 1 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms CALL NUMBER RA418 .D49 1999 FT MEADE Copy 2 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms - STORED OFFSITE 4. Constructivist perspectives on developmental psychopathology and atypical development LCCN 90002716 Type of material Book Main title Constructivist perspectives on developmental psychopathology and atypical development / edited by Daniel P. Keating, Hugh Rosen. Published/Created Hillsdale, N.J. : L. Erlbaum Associates, 1991. Description xi, 256 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. ISBN 0805804374 Links Publisher description http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0742/90002716-d.html CALL NUMBER RJ135 .C65 1991 Copy 1 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms 5. Intellectual talent, research and development : proceedings of the Sixth Annual Hyman Blumberg Symposium on Research in Early Childhood Education LCCN 75030554 Type of material Book Meeting name Hyman Blumberg Symposium on Research in Early Childhood Education, 6th, Johns Hopkins University, 1974. Main title Intellectual talent, research and development : proceedings of the Sixth Annual Hyman Blumberg Symposium on Research in Early Childhood Education / edited by Daniel P. Keating. Published/Created Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, c1976. Description xviii, 346 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. ISBN 0801817439. 0801817447 CALL NUMBER QA11.A1 H95 1974 FT MEADE Copy 2 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms - STORED OFFSITE 6. Mathematical talent: discovery, description, and development; proceedings. LCCN 73019342 Type of material Book Meeting name Hyman Blumberg Symposium on Research in Early Childhood Education, 3d, Johns Hopkins University, 1973. Main title Mathematical talent: discovery, description, and development; proceedings. Edited by Julian C. Stanley, Daniel P. Keating, and Lynn H. Fox. Published/Created Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press [1974] Description xvii, 215 p. illus. 23 cm. ISBN 0801815851 0801815924 (pbk.) CALL NUMBER QA11.A1 H95 1973 FT MEADE Copy 2 Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms - STORED OFFSITE
  • University of Michigan - https://lsa.umich.edu/psych/people/faculty/keatingd.html

    Daniel Keating
    Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Pediatrics; Research Professor, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research

    keatingd@umich.edu
    Office Information:

    2008 East Hall
    phone: 734.764.7472

    Developmental Psychology; Education and Psychology

    Education/Degree:

    Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University

    Highlighted Work and Publications
    More Info
    Born Anxious: The Lifelong Impact of Early Life Adversity-- and How to Break the Cycle.
    Daniel P. Keating

    Year of Publication: 2017

    More Info
    Nature and Nurture in Early Child Development
    Daniel P. Keating (Editor)

    Year of publication: 2011

    More Info
    Developmental Health and the Wealth of Nations: Social, Biological, and Educational Dynamics
    Daniel P. Keating (Editor), Clyde Hertzman (Editor)

    Year of Publication: 1999

    More Info
    Constructivist Perspectives on Developmental Psychopathology and Atypical Development (Jean Piaget Symposia Series)
    Daniel P. Keating (Editor), Hugh Rosen (Editor)

    Year of publication: 1990

    Daniel Keating has picture
    About
    My research focuses on integrating knowledge about developmental processes, population patterns in developmental health, and social factors affecting individual and population development.

    The first program of research (funding from NICHD, Keating is PI) focuses on adolescent cognitive and brain development, including neurocognitive and neuroimaging methods, aimed at understanding the neurodevelopmental pathways in adolescent and early adult health risk behavior. We collected self-report and neurocognitive task data on a cohort of 15-17 year-olds (N=2017), and have completed a second wave of data collection with them. A third wave of the longitudinal survey study will begin early in 2018. A targeted subsample of this group (high and average risk-takers) is also participating in a neuroimaging study (fMRI, DTI, resting state, and EEG/ERP), at two time points.

    The second program of research focuses on the impacts early life adversity and exposures, from prenatal through infancy, encompassing both psychosocial stressors and physical exposures. This is part of the national ECHO study (Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes, funding from NIEHS), in which a Michigan consortium is a research site, and includes 3 cohorts for which data collection continues. Keating’s role as a Co-Investigator is to focus on neurodevelopmental outcomes of early adversity and exposures, and the mechanisms through which they “get under the skin”, including epigenetic pathways.

    A third line of research (not currently funded) focuses on international comparisons of the relationship between the SES gradient in developmental health – especially educational performance, self-reported health, and social participation among adolescents – and the overall population developmental health of different countries. The next phase of research planning is to focus on country-specific indicators of developmental opportunities, and how they relate to the country-level social gradient and mean performance.

    Current course offerings include a graduate seminar on social disparities in developmental health, and undergraduate courses in Psychology of Adolescence, Advanced Research in Adolescent Development, and a First Year Seminar on stress and resilience.

    Representative publications

    Keating, D. P. (2017). Born Anxious: The Lifelong Impact of Early Life Adversity – and How to Break the Cycle. New York: St. Martin’s Press. [stmartins.com/bornanxious]

    Keating, D. P., (2016). The transformative role of epigenetics in child development research, Child Development, 87 (1), 135-142.

    Keating, D. P. (2016). Social inequality in population developmental health: An equity and justice issue. In S. Horn, M. Ruck, & L. Liben (Eds.): Equity and Justice in Developmental Science: Theoretical and Methodological Issues, Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 50, 75-104. UK: Academic Press.

    Keating, D. P. (2014). Adolescent thinking in action: Minds in the making. In J. Brooks-Gunn, R. M. Lerner, A. C. Petersen, & R. K. Silbereisen (Eds.), The developmental science of adolescence: History through autobiography. NY: Psychology Press. (Pp. 257-266).

    Falk, E.B., Hyde, L.W., Mitchell, C., Faul, J., Gonzalez, R., Heitzeg, M.M., Keating, D.P., Langa, K., Martz, M.E., Maslowsky, J., Morrison, F.J., Noll, D. C., Patrick, M., Pfeffer, F.T., Reuter-Lorenz, P. A., Thomason, M.E., Davis-Kean, P., Monk, C.S., Schulenberg, J. (2013). Neuroscience meets population science: What is a representative brain? Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 110(44):17615-22.

    Maslowsky, J., Buvinger, E., Keating, D. P., Cauffman, E., & Steinberg, L. D. (2011). Cost-benefit judgment mediates the relationship between sensation seeking and risk behavior among adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(7), 802-806.

    Maslowsky, J., Keating, D. P., Monk, C. S., & Schulenberg, J. S. (2011). Planned versus unplanned risks: Neurocognitive predictors of subtypes of adolescents' risk behavior. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 35 (2), 152-160.

  • University of Michigan - http://www.soe.umich.edu/people/profile/keating_daniel/

    Daniel Keating
    Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Pediatrics; Research Professor, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research
    Daniel Keating, School of Education
    Research and Teaching Interests

    Keating's research focuses on integrating knowledge about developmental processes, population patterns in developmental health, and social factors affecting individual and population development. Three current lines of research are:

    The study of basic processes in adolescent cognitive and brain development, including neurocognitive and neuroimaging methods, With a particular focus on their relationship to health-related risk behaviors.

    International comparisons on the relationship between the SES gradient in developmental health, especially educational performance and self-reported health, and the overall performance of different countries. The next phase of research focuses on country-specific indicators of developmental opportunities, and how they relate to the country-level social gradient and mean performance.

    Analyses of longitudinal datasets to study population outcomes of developmental health with regard to how those patterns may be explained by underlying developmental mechanisms,.

    A major thrust of this work has been to identify the social circumstances that have an enduring impact on developmental health, and to discover the developmental mechanisms through which those social circumstances operate. A longer term goal of this line of work is to identify the key aspects of social environments that shape developmental experiences in early childhood through the adolescent transition, in ways that can be addressed at the level of policy and practice.

    Current course offerings include a graduate seminar on social disparities in developmental health, and the undergraduate course in Psychology of Adolescence.

    Daniel Keating received his PhD from the Johns Hopkins University.

    In the School of Education, Keating teaches courses in the following program(s):
    Combined Program in Education and Psychology

    Selected Publications
    Keating, D. P. (2014). Adolescent thinking in action: Minds in the making. In J. Brooks-Gunn, R. M. Lerner, A. C. Petersen, & R. K. Silbereisen (Eds.), The developmental science of adolescence: History through autobiography. NY: Psychology Press. (Pp. 257-266).

    Keating, D. P., Siddiqi, A., & Nguyen, Q. (2013). Social resilience in the neoliberal era: National differences in population health and development. In P. Hall & M. Lamont (Eds.), Social Resilience in the Neo-Liberal Era. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press. (Pp. 239-263).

    Siddiqi, A., Kawachi, I., Keating, D. P. and Hertzman, C., (2013). A comparative study of population health in the United States and Canada during the Neoliberal Era, 1980-2008. International Journal of Health Services, 43 (2), 193-216.

    Miller, F. K. & Keating, D. P. (2013). Implementing an evidence-based parent-child mental health program in a high risk community. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, 32 (1), 139-153.

    Keating, D. P. (2012). Cognitive and brain development. Enfance, 3, 267-279.

    Watt, H. G., Shapka, J. D., Morris, Z. A., Durik, A. M., Keating, D. P., & Eccles, J. S. (2012). Gendered motivational processes affecting high school mathematics participation, educational aspirations, and career plans: A comparison of samples from Australia, Canada, and the United States. Developmental Psychology, 48(6), 1594-1611.

    Maslowsky, J., Buvinger, E., Keating, D. P., Cauffman, E., & Steinberg, L. D. (2011). Cost-benefit judgment mediates the relationship between sensation seeking and risk behavior among adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(7), 802-806.

    Maslowsky, J., Keating, D. P., Monk, C. S., & Schulenberg, J. S. (2011). Planned versus unplanned risks: Neurocognitive predictors of subtypes of adolescents' risk behavior. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 35 (2),152-160.

    Keating, D. P. (2011). Society and early child development. In D. P. Keating (Ed.), Nature and nurture in early child development. New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.

Keating, Daniel P.: BORN ANXIOUS
Kirkus Reviews.
(Mar. 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Keating, Daniel P. BORN ANXIOUS St. Martin's (Adult Nonfiction) $26.99 4, 11 ISBN: 978-1-250-07504-
8
New scientific evidence shows that anxiety can become embedded in a person's biology as early as in utero.
As a longtime psychology professor shows, this discovery provides unprecedented insight into why some
people are locked into a perpetual anxious state and how social practices can break the cycle.As a result of
environmental stress very early in life, a baby's internal stress regulation system can become deregulated,
resulting in a lifelong heightened state of anxiety. Relying on the results of studies in developmental
psychology, neurology, epigenetics, and other fields, Keating (Psychology/Univ. of Michigan; editor:
Nature and Nurture in Early Child Development, 2010, etc.) explores the causes of this biological typo,
which he argues are directly linked to rising social inequality, especially in the United States. The author
also posits that the consequences of a growing "stress epidemic" are myriad and profound, affecting
everything from a person's ability to form meaningful relationships to their predilection for heart disease
and other medical conditions. Even more alarming is evidence that suggests epigenetic changes related to
stress deregulation can be passed down to subsequent generations, exacerbating its effects on society as a
whole. Despite all this, Keating is not grim. Without weighing down his narrative with medical jargon, he
outlines evidence-based practices to help prevent or alleviate chronic anxiety at every stage of life. He also
details the stark connection between socio-economic status and overall psychological and physical health--
even if a country is considered wealthy and developed--and he offers insight regarding how government
policies can enact powerful change in a population's health and development. His cogent arguments add
new heft to current political debates regarding social programs. Much more than just an overview of how
new DNA research has enlightened our understanding of anxiety, this is an empowering guide to combating
the stress epidemic.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Keating, Daniel P.: BORN ANXIOUS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A482911874/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b48d4221.
Accessed 28 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A482911874
1/28/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1517178663376 2/2
Nature and nurture in early child
development
J. Mercer
CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries.
48.11 (July 2011): p2194.
COPYRIGHT 2011 American Library Association CHOICE
http://www.ala.org/acrl/choice/about
Full Text:
48-6597
BF341
2010-30830 CIP
Nature and nurture in early child development, ed. by Daniel P. Keating. Cambridge, 2011. 295p bibl index
ISBN 0521840406, $90.00; ISBN 9780521840408, $90.00
Keating (Univ. of Michigan) focuses not on nature and nurture individually, but on the interaction between
the two during early childhood. Without falling prey to infant determinism, the contributors (some of whom
are the elite of developmental science) argue that early childhood is a time when many later developmental
pathways are determined by combinations of environmental and genetic factors; thus, studying this period
of development can provide invaluable information about the complex causes of developmental outcomes.
Essays on biological factors and on neuroscience offer beautiful summaries but are comparable to
discussions elsewhere. Unusual, however, is the handling of longitudinal and population studies and
analytical methods and of practical concerns about parent-child psychotherapy and policy considerations.
An integrating chapter in addition to that on policy would have been welcome. Discussion of dynamicsystems
thinking, which would seem an ideal model for the interactionist approach, is missing. The detailed
treatments of specific topics will be more useful in the academy than the discussion of the interactionist
paradigm, which is likely to be understood only by those already working in the field. The index is minimal.
Summing Up: Recommended. ** Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students,
professionals/practitioners.--J. Mercer, emerita, Richard Stockton College
Mercer, J.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Mercer, J. "Nature and nurture in early child development." CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic
Libraries, July 2011, p. 2194. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A260331241/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ca787c4d.
Accessed 28 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A260331241

"Keating, Daniel P.: BORN ANXIOUS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2017. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A482911874/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF. Accessed 28 Jan. 2018. Mercer, J. "Nature and nurture in early child development." CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, July 2011, p. 2194. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A260331241/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF. Accessed 28 Jan. 2018.
  • Psych Central
    https://psychcentral.com/lib/book-review-born-anxious/

    Word count: 961

    Book Review: Born Anxious By Daniel Keating
    Reviewed by Claire Nana
    ~ 3 min read
    Book Review: Born Anxious

    The story of Daniel P. Keating’s new book, Born Anxious: The Lifelong Impact of Early Adversity – and How to Break the Cycle begins from the day we are conceived.

    While previous research largely assumed that the year before a child is born didn’t have much impact on later life development, it is precisely this period, Keating argues, that creates the blueprint for how the child will respond to stress, interpret the intentions of others, manage relationships, learn and even raise children.

    When expecting mothers undergo a high degree of stress – whether it be from financial concerns, divorce, moving or job loss – their stress is literally transferred onto the DNA of their child. The result is what is now known as social epigenetics. While epigenetics refers to changes in the gene expression that result from external factors, in social epigenetics, those factors are the relationships that we have, beginning with the very first one.

    Social epigenetics explains how the stress of the mother can trigger a biological switch that effectively turns on the genes that regulate the stress response of the child. The outward signs of this are a child who is highly anxious, hard to comfort, often agitated and sometimes hyper-aggressive.

    However, the causes for this behavior lie in the child’s biology. While other children may respond to stressors with some alert, this child’s alert never seems to go off, resulting in what Keating calls stress dysregulation.

    “The triggering mechanism, as we discovered by putting together findings from many corners of the scientific enterprise involved a biological change made in response to an adverse social experience in very early life that altered the ability of that person to deal with stress,” writes Keating.

    As the child with stress dysregulation enters school, not just do learning and behavior problems result, but also difficulty in relationships. He may appear overly sensitive to touch, sights, and sounds, difficult to soothe and highly irritable. All of this can cause a considerable strain on the parent-child bond.

    Yet it is also at this age that biological repair – and perhaps even some reversal of the epigenetic changes – is possible. Keating points to the results of a very large study showing that children who were adopted from adverse circumstances, when exposed to an attentive caregiver were able to fully reverse the effects of a maladaptive stress system. Through a strong parental attachment, children with stress dysregulation can be provided a buffer against stress that aids in self-regulation, eventually leading to the ability to self-soothe.

    Of particular importance, Keating notes, is a parent’s ability to help the child move toward independence by allowing them to make choices, talking them through difficult experiences, keeping communication open and sticking to a routine.

    “Routines not only shape how we think and act, but also the amount of cortisol – or serotonin or oxytocin – that is produced. It is the balance between them that makes the lifelong difference,” writes Keating.

    This difference often plays out in better impulse control, improved relationships and better physical health. Of specific importance, Keating notes, are to reduce the “allostatic load” of stress, which is the physical load on the body occurring as a result of chronic stress, and to overcome the attractor states of hypervigilance, anger and anxiety.

    By learning to slow down and think through decisions, we can learn to overcome default patterns of responding to stress. This is also what Daniel Kahneman calls the “dual process model,” which describes the difference between actions that are the result of epigenetic changes and a more mindful approach that results in better decisions and less stress.

    One interesting connection Keating makes is that between stress dysregulation and consumption of sucrose, and the resulting obesity.

    “Unfortunately, adults often fall back on the quick-fix mode of dealing with stress. One thing many do is turn repeatedly to food. This habit can begin very early on, when babies become quickly dependent on sucrose to soothe their emotions, a positive instinctual preference given that it counteracts cortisol,” writes Keating.

    The astronomical rates of obesity are just one outcome of what Keating calls a “stress epidemic.” In the decade between 2000 and 2010, many stress-related diseases – from high blood pressure to insomnia and frequent mental distress – all rose sharply. Much of this stress reflects a larger social issue – rising inequality.

    “If once, in our early history, tigers were the hunters that triggered our stress reactions, steep social inequality is the predator that has so many of us living with dread today,” writes Keating.

    Keating recommends focusing on what he calls policies for the self: control, connection and consciousness. By finding a psychological sense of control (especially when our perceptions of the demands placed on us exceed our ability to deal with them), developing warm caring relationships and employing self-reflection, we can take important and necessary steps to break free from the cycle of stress and take our lives back from anxiety.

    With Born Anxious, Keating has not just rewritten our understanding of stress, but the social mechanisms that drive it. Stress is an inescapable condition of life today, but Keating shows that we need not have our lives, and our DNA, dictated by stress. There is another way, and it starts with reading Born Anxious.

    Born Anxious: The Lifelong Impact of Early Life Adversity – and How to Break the Cycle
    Daniel Keating
    St. Martin’s Press (2017)
    Hardcover, 213 Pages