Another Way Family Can Get in the Head and Under the Skin: The Neurobiology of Helping the Family

Families can be both challenging and mean- ingful. Advances in technology have allowed us to gain insight into the impact of family stress on biological and neurological development, but these tools also can be used to understand more deeply the social and cultural meaning of family experiences in the developing child. In this article, we describe a program of research examining the psychological, immunological, and neural correlates of children helping their families. Although difficult at times, such help can provide a sense of belonging and role fulfillment that may shape the neurobiology of the devel- oping child.

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