According to a new study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, there are “no clear guidelines” for what hair cut is best for a child’s development.
The researchers found that for children who were raised in families that practiced the traditional hair cut, “haircut styles that involve multiple cuts may produce more social adjustment than styles that focus on a single cut.”
Haircuts that involve more than two cuts are often associated with “trying to achieve a more pleasing look,” the study said.
But for the “unfortunate” children in the study who had been raised in homes that were less focused on style, the study found “there is no clear relationship between hairstyles and social adjustment.”
The study is the first to look at this question specifically in terms of the hairstyles children who grew up in homes with less strict rules were able to adapt to in order to cope with social expectations.
The study also found that there was “no association between style preference and adjustment, which suggests that styles may be associated with social adjustment even in the absence of overt social rejection.”
A haircut that is more complex than just a single straight cut can be difficult to transition to for many children, according to the study.
The authors of the study, who included Dr. Julie DeGroot from the University of Pennsylvania, said the study’s findings “suggest that the cultural norms of children in families with more strict rules may not necessarily be the most important factor determining the success or failure of children’s hair styles.”
Haircut styles with more than one cut, however, were associated with more social and emotional adjustment.
“As a result, parents who adopt hairstyles that include multiple cuts and hairstyles with more complex hairstyles are likely to be successful in the long term, and therefore, they may be able to maintain their hairstyles in their children’s lives,” the researchers said.
“The potential benefits of a haircut style that includes multiple cuts for a given child, however [is] less clear, given that the majority of children who grow up in hair-related settings experience some degree of social rejection.
Therefore, it is important to develop culturally appropriate hair styles for children’s development.”
The researchers also found “that parents of children with autism and other developmental delays may have more difficulty adjusting to the changes of social and behavioral rules in their own homes,” which may contribute to their difficulty in socializing and adjusting to their children.
“There is a need for more studies that examine the effects of haircut styles on children’s adjustment, and for clinicians and families to be able more easily identify and incorporate a style that is culturally appropriate for their children,” Dr. DeGroots said in a press release.
Haircut Styles Are Often Not A Solution For Everyone, Study Finds Haircuts Are Not A Cure For Autism, The study was published in The Journal of Clinical Child Psychology.
However, the researchers noted that “the potential benefits and limitations of hair cut styles are discussed and discussed throughout this article.”
The authors also said that “parent-child interactions are often more challenging for children in our sample, and parents may not have sufficient experience to effectively address the needs of children.”
The team hopes that the study helps researchers “make the case for adopting culturally appropriate haircuts for autistic children,” and that “their use in autism-related homes is encouraged and valued.”
Parents should be encouraged to discuss their child’s hairstyles to parents who are less familiar with hair cut practices and their own children, and also to discuss them with other parents and teachers who may have other concerns about their child, the authors said.
Parents should also be encouraged, if their child is struggling with social or emotional adjustment, to consider hairstyles, such as the hair cut that is most similar to the one they are currently following, as a tool to help their child feel more at ease with their surroundings and the world around them.
For more on autism, click here.
