Adapting to a New Environment – the Psychological Implications of Moving in Childhood

“A new place, a new chapter” (Flick.Tech, 2023) – As sad, happy, anxiety-inducing, or exciting as the chapter may be, residential relocation can have a wide range of positive and negative effects on a child’s psychological and cognitive development. On the one hand, moving is closely associated with many disruptive changes, such as finding new friends and adapting to a new environment (Fiori, 2021). For the article I interviewed Viktor, who moved several times throughout his childhood and adolescence and found adapting to a new place quite challenging. As such he reports: “I just had a really hard time talking to new people. That created a lot of anxiety for me. It usually took a year for things to really start clicking and I started to make new friends, but it takes a lot of time to adapt.” Especially with multiple moves, relocation is accompanied by a general feeling of rootlessness: “It’s a hard question for me to say what is home, the only thing that I can say is that home is where my family is. I have lived in so many places that I don’t think I have a home like someone who grew up in one place for their entire life.” Viktor’s personal experience is backed up by numerous studies that conclude that frequent moves during childhood have negative long-term consequences, such as lower life satisfaction, fewer quality relationships and worse psychological well-being in adulthood (Hamilton, 2010). Similarly, relocation during childhood may result in adverse academic and cognitive outcomes, as behavioral problems and the risk of failing a grade increases for these children (Wood, 1993). 

On the other hand, moving may also bring positive effects that motivate people in the first place to relocate, although these are often less clearly outlined in literature. For example, the dream to move abroad to experience a new country and culture is shared by many. As such, many lifestyle and traveling blogs advertise moving to a new home as a fresh start for the family that fosters personal growth and helps to develop resilience and a broader perspective on life (for example Moovick, 2023). Better economic or academic opportunities or learned flexibility are just a few more mentioned benefits. At the same time, it is questionable to what extent these positive effects are really experienced by the children, who usually have no voice in family decisions. Here, Viktor reports: “Everytime I moved, I got really upset. I always dreaded the first day of school and having to make new friends – I love my parents and I am forever grateful for everything they have done to me, but moving felt like a decision they made without me. Even though I got the opportunity to get a fresh start and experience a new country, these were things I really didn’t care about.” So how can residential relocation still be a neutral or positive experience for some children? A possible explanation lies in the psychological phenomenon of resilience. 

Resilience can be described as “the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences” (American Psychological Association, 2022). Children with high resilience cope better with these challenges. According to Masten & Powell (2003) resilience is determined by three factors: individual factors, relationship factors and community factors, which are important in understanding the different outcomes of moving. Firstly, individual factors take into account self-related aspects, such as personality, self-perception and self-regulation. In terms of personality, building resilience in the context of moving seems to be easier for extroverted versus introverted people with introverts having a harder time opening up to new people and making friends, while the opposite holds true for extroverts (Hamilton, 2010). Similarly, Viktor states: “I would definitely say that I was more introverted when I was younger. Moving was especially hard for me in the beginning. Today it is easier.” Other findings show that neurotic people generally report more dissatisfaction and negative well-being when relocating than people who score high on emotional stability (Hamilton, 2010). This might be due to the fact they have an increased tendency to worry, which might make them more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

Another important individual factor is age: Different age groups face different challenges caused by the move. For Example, infants under the age of two years tend to experience residential mobility as an environmental stressor that might disrupt the attachment process to the caregiver resulting in negative emotional impacts (Rumboldt et al., 2012). Contrarily, adolescents face the challenge of adapting to a new group of friends, which becomes more difficult as they get older, as they cannot find friends through nonverbal play. This in turn is the prevalent way in which young children establish friendships more easily (Familymoveabroad, 2019). Further, adapting to a new place during adolescence impairs the age-typical formation of personal identity, which is heavily dependent on the social group in which the individual is anchored. Generally, it is important to keep in mind that there is a huge variance in the studies’ findings, which translates to very individual experiences of moving. 

Secondly, relationship factors like parenting quality, close relationships with caring adults and connections to prosocial and abiding peers are important in building resilience (Masten & Powell 2003). This highlights the importance of positive parenting and family intervention to alleviate possible negative impacts of moving. As such, engaging the children in age-appropriate decision making can mitigate the sense of lost control and self-direction (Familymoveabroad.com, 2019). For example, visiting and deciding on a new school together with the child might help. Besides providing communication, support and empathy is essential (McLeod & Heriot, 2008). Regarding the peer group, encouraging extracurricular activities as a parent to help the children find new friends is a useful way to foster resilience. In this context, Viktor mentions that football made it easier for him to find new friends without having to talk too much and be limited by language barriers. 

Lastly, community factors such as good education systems, connections to prosocial organizations and neighborhood quality in terms of resources, safety and healthcare are important (Masten & Powell 2003). In this regard, economically disadvantaged families are more likely to move, leading to more negative effects for the children, which in turn creates a negative feedback loop (Fiori, 2021). This finding should inform further housing policies regarding housing stability and highlights that future housing policies should focus on the issue of affordable, secure and high-quality housing for families.  

All in all, moving is not a simple matter: there are important considerations to take into account as a parent when deciding whether to move or not. Of course, not every move may be voluntary and sometimes there is no other option, but awareness regarding the potential negative implications for the children among parents and pedagogues needs to be raised. As a parent it is important to keep in mind that the way the family deals with the adaptation process is crucial for the development of resilience and well-being of the child.