No matter how well-nourished and intellectually stimulated a child is, going without human touch can stunt his mental, emotional and even physical growth; it potentially affects the child for years to come.
On the other hand, children who do not have affectionate parents tend to have lower self esteem and to feel more alienated, hostile, aggressive, and anti-social. There have been a number of recent studies that highlight the relationship between parental affection and children's happiness and success.
Researchers have found the following negative consequences for lack of touch: Higher risk for sensory processing disorders, such as oversensitivity. Increased likelihood of autism spectrum disorder. Impaired growth and cognitive development.
Love and affection are essential to a child's healthy brain development. A child's feelings about themselves, how confident they are and how well they cope with stress, are all affected by the way their parents respond to them.
When touch is nurturing, in other words, loving, kind, and wanted by the child, touch plays a key role in healthy child development. Nurturing physical touch promotes development of young children's physiological systems involved in regulating emotions and stress responses.
No matter how well-nourished and intellectually stimulated a child is, going without human touch can stunt his mental, emotional and even physical growth; it potentially affects the child for years to come.
Touch supports brain development
By experiencing their environment through their senses, a baby's brain cells link up into pathways which become knowledge and skills. One of the first tasks of a newborn baby is to learn to control their limbs.
Specifically, compared to people with less skin hunger, people who feel more affection-deprived: are less happy; more lonely; more likely to experience depression and stress; and, in general, in worse health. They have less social support and lower relationship satisfaction.
They may experience a change in their mental and emotional health, leading to issues like stress, depression, anxiety, and lack of motivation.
For example, a lack of physical contact may increase feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression. One 2017 study highlights that affectionate touch promotes psychological well-being. Therefore, it is possible that a lack of contact could put a person's mental and emotional health at risk.
Warm and caring touch lowers stress hormones (e.g., cortisol), and stimulates the release of oxytocin, the “love hormone,” which enhances security, trust, and secure attachment (Field 2010). Humans are prewired to be able to interpret the touch of others.
It has been found that touch calms our nervous center and slows down our heartbeat. Human touch also lowers blood pressure as well as cortisol, our stress hormone. It also triggers the release of oxytocin, a hormone known for promoting emotional bonding to others.
Although sex isn't the defining factor of a successful relationship, lack of physical intimacy in the form of sex can lead to feelings of isolation, abandonment, broken communication, infidelity, and lower self esteem, which can all impact mental health and the relationship as a whole.
Feeling conflicted and generally insecure
“When parents do not model stable, healthy, secure, and loving behavior, a child will often grow up feeling chronically destabilized and insecure,” says Manly. As adults, they may seem to be secure or confident.
A lack of true unconditional love in childhood isn't just challenging—it's traumatic. This type of trauma is known as relational trauma.
Physical touch helps improve intimacy between people, whether it's through holding hands, cuddling on the couch, giving someone a hug, or having sex. It's social bonding. It literally brings us closer together. And of course, physical touch can be used to communicate nonverbally.
Similar to gaslighting, withholding makes the victim feel as if they are isolated, ignored or do not have control over their own lives.
Withholding is a toxic, emotional abuse tactic. Withholding can show up in any type of relationship — you can have a withholding parent, sibling, child, friend, boss or spouse. Withholding manifests in different ways as many things can be withheld — money, affection, time, information, validation, support, praise…
What Is Touch Starvation? Touch starvation is a condition that happens when you don't get as much physical touch as you're used to -- or any at all. You crave contact but can't interact with others for some reason. It's also known as touch deprivation or skin hunger.
Our sense of touch allows us to receive information about our internal and external environments, making it important for sensory perception. The first sense to develop in a human foetus is touch.
Developmental delay is often seen in children receiving inadequate or inappropriate sensory stimulation.
Physical contact positively influences the development of the brain, and deepens the relationship between mother and child. It also spells love, involvement, care, security and protection. Without it, they will not grow and develop into normal, happy, healthy children or adults.
Humans are social animals, and research shows touch builds emotional connection and is fundamental to social communication. Touch is essential to early childhood development and several studies (including one featuring Ultraleap's haptic technology) have shown that people can communicate emotions solely through touch.