Essay about Brain Development and Mental Health

There are many factors in an individual’s life that can alter one's mental health: relationship abuse, drugs, stress and anxiety. Current research delivers an important claim that certain causes of mental health issues can be a huge factor in determining an individual’s instant or delayed gratification. Is the research done still valid? Are these variables fully understood? Is there vital information left out of these articles? It is crucial to acknowledge the difficulties many individuals suffer with and what is behind their mental health situation, as well as, how it affects one’s gratification.

The "Marshmallow Test" is an experiment done to examine a child's delayed gratification. The children were given one marshmallow and told that if they wait, they will be given a second marshmallow. If they do not wait, they will not be given a second marshmallow. The child's actions will determine whether they have good self-control, patience, and listening skills. In Walter Mischel’s “Delay of Gratification in Children” from May 26, 1989, he had added that “Such goal-directed self-imposed delay of gratification is widely presumed to be important in the prevention of serious developmental and mental health problems…”. Using the marshmallow test on children could indicate relations between their upbringing and their level of gratification. In his second method, Mischel had used 4-year-old children of parents who either taught or went to Stanford University. While this experiment was still fairly new, there was no diversity. These children all came from a similar background instead of a melting pot of all backgrounds. These backgrounds could have consisted of education, culture, and even class, which may have been a more accurate and in-depth with the testing using just those three factors. To further go in-depth with the testing, children from abusive households or born with any mental health issue could have been included as well. These subjects could definitely have shown more interesting results than a simplified version. Luckily, Mischel’s second article “The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control (excerpt)” in The Hub, added that “Those who had delayed longer in preschool self-reported that they were more able to pursue and reach long-term goals.” The test had expanded its research by keeping track of the children who had grown well into their thirties. While it briefly mentions mental health at the slightest, there should have been more clarity and added information on the subject’s sanity.

In HéFer Bembenutty’s article, “Test Anxiety and Academic Delay of Gratification”, Students with test anxiety suffered with decision making between an immediate, enjoyably short-term option or the self-control towards delayed gratification that would lead to a more fulfilling, rewarding option in time. Those who chose to have a short-term, immediate reward instead of studying ended up doing poorly and suffered with more anxiety. Students that used delayed gratification were more satisfied and more successful academically, and suffered less with test anxiety. Why might an individual be suffering with test anxiety? It could potentially be from their background growing up. Experiencing some sort of negativity whether it was from their parents or friends, or something more personal. Long-term effects from their experiences growing up can hinder brain development and if these issues are not worked through in time, by the end of the individual’s brain development, they could struggle correcting it for many years into their lifetime. There could be many indications as to why an individual may be experiencing test anxiety while others are not, but it is important to dive into the history of the individual to closely understand the struggles of test anxiety, and anxiety in general.

The misuse and abuse of using drugs can drastically change the brain and cause a chemical imbalance in an individual. In this case, Miguel Garcia-Argibay explains in his article, “The Relationship Between the Big Five Personality Traits, Impulsivity, and Anabolic Steroid Use”, that a drug called androgenic-anabolic steroids (AAS) are used by some students to enhance performance. This drug is normally used by athletes and bodybuilders to speed up the healing process in the body and increase muscle mass. This powerful drug is linked to destructive and aggressive behavior such as more drug and alcohol abuse, anger, physical altercations, and life-threatening risks. Self-gratification in "AAS" users were also very low. It can be assumed that in almost all cases, and from scientific research over many decades, that under the influence of any drug will cause interference with the way neurons send, receive, and process signals.

In Andrey Anokhin’s article, “Heritability of Delay Discounting in Adolescence: A Longitudinal Twin Study”, he mentions that “delay discounting” (DD) is an impulsive disorder which relies on immediate rewards. Those who experience "DD" have been linked to “ADHD”, drug use, and poor self-management. Delayed gratification is close to impossible as it relies on long waits and self-control which is very difficult for these recipients. Individuals who experience this impulsivity also suffer with gambling and shopping. The immediate satisfaction of receiving feeds into the individual’s disorder. 

There are many factors as to why an individual’s mental health may suffer, and affect their instant or delayed gratification. Drugs, relationship abuse, stress, and anxiety to name a few. Take a moment to understand what state of mind someone is in. Take into account what they may have been through in their past life or still experiencing. Many issues could also develop without negative experiences. The brain is a very intricate organ and is constantly changing over the period of an individual’s life. Between birth and death, an individual can go through many stages of brain rewiring. It is important to take account of your own mental health and understand what is affecting you. Look into your history and figure out why your gratification has become instant or delayed in recent years.

Work Cited

Anokhin, Andrey, et al. “Heritability of Delay Discounting in Adolescence: A Longitudinal Twin Study.” Behavior Genetics, vol. 41, no. 2, Mar. 2011, pp. 175–183. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10519-010-9384-7. 

Bembenutty, HéFer. “Test Anxiety and Academic Delay of Gratification.” College Student Journal, vol. 43, no. 1, Mar. 2009, pp. 10–21. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.sunyocc.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pbh&AN=36792308&site=ehost-live. 

Garcia-Argibay, Miguel. “The Relationship Between the Big Five Personality Traits, Impulsivity, and Anabolic Steroid Use.” Substance Use & Misuse, vol. 54, no. 2, Feb. 2019, pp. 236–246. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/10826084.2018.1512630. 

HUB WITH 2020 APA UPDATE: a Place for Reading and Writing, by PETER ADAMS, BEDFORD BKS ST MARTIN'S, 2020, pp. 2–32.