The original report was posted this month from the University of Washington at the National Academy of Science.
The accelerated maturation was much more pronounced in females than males, the report found.
Patti Garibay is the founder and executive director of American Heritage Girls, a Christ-centered character and leadership development program for girls.
“The results are quite frightening. These are kiddos that they studied from the ages of nine to seventeen. They found a thickening of the cerebral cortex meaning an aging of the brain. And for girls, the aging during covid was from the stress that was induced due to loneliness and no socialization, and that resulted in 4.2 years maturity, more maturity of the brain, and although sometimes we think maturity's a good thing, in the case of brain development, it is not. It is like aging of the brain that is too early."
Launched in 2018, the researchers collected MRI data from 160 kids aged from 9-17 years at the time. They collected more data from the same subjects in 2020.
Different effects for boys
There was also a maturation issue in boys, but it was not as dramatic. Boys’ brains aged about 1.4 years.
Despite losing many stress-relief outlets in 2020, Kuhl adds, teens were still awash in social pressures and cyberbullying because of social media.
It remains unclear why lockdowns affected males and females so differently, but it may reflect differing social priorities, the report suggests.
“Thirty areas of the brain were studied in this study. It was very conclusive, and it showed that our kiddos' brains matured at an alarming rate due to the unnecessary, in my mind, stress that they were put under during the COVID lockdowns,” Garibay said.
Garibay said there were a lot of co-related studies to this one.
“There is also the study that one out of three girls have a diagnosed anxiety disorder since the covid lockdowns. So, anxiety, fear of contracting the disease, as well as loneliness. We are experiencing a loneliness epidemic in this country, for kids."
So what is the antidote? Garibay said it's a question we all know the answer to. It's to understand one's identity in Christ and to understand that He alone provides freedom.
Strong support groups are a key
And beyond that, she said it is very important that our kids seek out like-minded friends.
“No matter what age or stage of youth you are, you need friends, and so these lockdowns were very detrimental. You may have had your family, but then you needed more peers around you because that's what stimulates brain activity, allows for anxiety to be dimmed, and also allows for girls and boys to mature in the way that they should."
Garibay said we need to be intentional parents, find friends for our kids and make sure they're in a peer group that is wholesome.
“American Heritage Girls provides that, Trail Life USA for the boys. I highly encourage the listeners to consider those two wonderful options."
