This post summarizes a new report on how chronic stress affects students, especially African American children and those from low-income families. A normal stress response triggers the release of hormones that can affect almost every organ in the body. Children exposed to frequent or sustained frightening or threatening events that are likely to induce toxic stress do worse academically. Exposure to frightening or threatening events does not necessarily result in a toxic stress response. In doing so, home visits create conditions that protect children from developing toxic stress.

Source: Washington Post May 22, 2019 17:34 UTC