Lead exposure in childhood has detrimental effects on personality. Adult children are less mature and less conscientious
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerousLead exposure in childhood has detrimental effects on personality. Adult children are less mature and less conscientious
Heavy metal exposure in childhood can have several negative effects. New research has focused in particular on early lead exposure which, according to the results obtained, could affect adult personality and obviously not for the better.
The effects of lead exposure on general health have been well documented by previous studies but now new research, conducted on over 1 million people in the United States and Europe, reveals a new damaging effect of this polluting heavy metal on personality.
To determine whether lead exposure really caused personality changes, the research team looked at the personality differences before and after the US Clean Air Act of 1970, a law that forced companies to remove lead from gasoline leading to massive reductions of this metal in the atmosphere.
Scientists compared changes in atmospheric lead levels with changes in average personality trait scores in each area, using data from an online personality questionnaire that assessed 5 characteristics:
- openness to experience (intellectual curiosity and creative imagination)
- extroversion (sociability and assertiveness)
- conscientiousness (organization and responsibility)
- agreeableness (compassion and respect)
- neuroticism (tendency to anxiety, depression and hostility)
It was thus shown that children who grew up in areas where the rate of lead air pollution was highest, as adults tended to have less adaptable and mature personalities, they were less conscientious and in some cases, they were even more neurotic.
Conversely, people born after atmospheric lead levels decreased had more mature and conscientious personalities. This suggests that exposure to this heavy metal can actually cause personality changes.
With some differences, the situation was also similar in Europe. The study authors write:
We found that Europeans exposed to higher amounts of atmospheric lead were also less agreeable and more neurotic. However, they were no less conscientious. This is an example of how often psychological outcomes differ between cultures.
What has been discovered is extremely serious, we must not in fact assume that changes in personality are a trivial matter. In fact, the authors recall that personality traits influence almost every aspect of people's lives: from happiness to professional success to longevity. This means that the effects of lead exposure on personality are likely to have widespread consequences.
Unfortunately, it has long been known that lead exposure in childhood can have detrimental effects on brain development and cause mental health problems and criminal behavior. But this study shows that the harmful effects related to lead may be greater and more widespread than researchers previously thought, given that exposure to this metal can also affect personality traits and consequently different aspects of people's lives. .
Fonti: Neuroscience News / Pnas
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