Updated June 08, 2015.

Abused children learn to judge whether people around them are angry. Even the subtlest hints of anger or hostility in their environment sets physically abused children on prolonged 'alert', even if a conflict has nothing to do with them.

This hyper-awareness of anger begins as a natural form of self-preservation in children who routinely face aggression. Some researchers believe that it may also explain why abused children are often so distracted at school.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin tracked biological markers in 11 abused four and five-year olds who play a computer game in one room when suddenly a clearly audible, heated argument erupts between students next door. The "argument"- over an incomplete homework assignment - was actually a scripted dialogue performed by two actors.

Both abused and non-abused children initially displayed signs of emotional arousal. They developed sweaty palms and decelerated heart rates in reaction to the angry voices in the next room. Heart rate deceleration is often seen prior to a "fight-or-flight" response. The heart rates of non-abused children soon returned to their normal levels, while heart rates in the abused group remained low. It seems that the abused children could not completely break their attention away from the next-door argument, even when it ended peacefully.

Previous research by the same team had shown that electrical brain activity spikes dramatically when abused children view digital images of angry faces.

The latest study examined whether abused children react similarly to anger in real life situations. Future research will examine which neural systems and brain regions are most affected after physical abuse.

Reference: Child Development, September 14, 2005.

Last edited 11/5/05