Psychological stress has been found to be contributing towards relative failure to grow in some children. It does this by affecting the secretion of growth hormone. As soon as stress is removed secretion of growth hormone starts again, and in clinical cases, a catch–up occurs. This is indistinguishable from the catch-up as a result of administering of human growth hormone to a child who is permanently deficient in growth hormone for structural reasons.
Studies have shown that the majority of children suffering from fairly severe stress continue to grow when given sufficient food, even in astonishingly stressful circumstances. Let us narrate the famous experiment of Widdow son of Cambridge University who provided some proof that the presence of a sadistic school teacher was a reason for affected growth in children in orphanage by slowing it down, even though a simultaneous increase in the amount of food eaten is there. Some earlier studies have shown that certain boarding-school boys grew more slowly in term-time than they did in holidays at home. Tanner and Whitehouse confirmed this finding. On the other hand it is quite possible that a boarding school may provide the friendly atmosphere required for catch-up to a child whose growth has been stunted by an adverse home. Thus, psychosocial stress can contribute towards slowing down the growth of a child. Therefore, it is important to have a congenial atmosphere at home as well as in schools and working places for the normal growth of an individual.