Parenting reduces feelings of squeamishness in adults - scientists find out

Long-term childcare significantly reduces the squeamishness response in adults, and this effect persists over time. This conclusion was reached by neurobiologists from the University of Bristol, having studied how the brain adapts to constant contact with unpleasant substances. The results of the study are published in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology.

Changing nappies, caring for sick children and contact with bio-waste is an everyday reality for parents. Researchers wondered whether regular and unavoidable exposure to such stimuli could change one of the basic human emotions - disgust, which evolutionarily serves as a defence against disease.

The study involved 99 parents and 50 adults without children. Participants were shown images associated with bodily secretions, including soiled nappies, and their reactions were analysed - for example, how often people looked away or tried to avoid viewing. Questionnaires with questions tailored to parental experience were also used.

As expected, people without children showed a strong reaction of disgust to such images. Parents, however, showed a different picture - but only after their children had started eating solid food. Parents of children who were in the complementary feeding phase or had already been weaned from breastfeeding showed almost no avoidance behaviour.

Moreover, the reduction in squeamishness extended not only to child-related situations but also to other forms of bodily waste. This suggests the formation of persistent desensitisation - a reduction in sensitivity to an irritant as a result of prolonged exposure.

Meanwhile, parents of infants who were exclusively milk-fed had the same level of disgust as adults without children - even if they already had older children. This unexpected result, according to the researchers, may have an evolutionary explanation.

Scientists suggest that heightened squeamishness early in a child's life helps reduce the risk of infections at a time when infants are particularly vulnerable. Later, as children get older, reducing the disgust response makes it easier to care for them during illnesses.

According to the authors, parenthood acts as a kind of "inoculation" against squeamishness by rewiring a person's underlying emotional responses. These changes may persist beyond childcare.

The researchers note that the results may be useful not only for understanding the psychology of parenthood, but also for developing ways to support people working in professions involving regular contact with unpleasant substances - for example, in medicine and the care sector.