Overview

• UCLA Health researchers analyzed data from more than 8,500 UK children in the Millennium Cohort Study, assessing maternal behavior at age 3 and health at 17.
• Higher maternal warmth—marked by praise, positive tone and affectionate interactions—was associated with stronger social safety schemas at age 14.
• Social safety perceptions at 14 fully mediated the link between early maternal warmth and both fewer physical health problems and reduced psychological distress at age 17.
• Maternal harshness at age 3 showed no predictive power for adolescents’ sense of social safety or their later physical and mental health.
• The findings suggest that interventions designed to enhance teenagers’ sense of social safety could offer a more effective path to lasting health improvements than focusing solely on reducing harsh caregiving.