Parents' anxiety could be a leading cause behind the high numbers of young children experiencing stress before starting school, researchers have concluded.
A team of researchers at the University of Bath found that heightened levels of the stress hormone cortisol were exhibited by youngsters up to six months before the start of term.
The study also found that children with a more shy and introvert personality were more found to be less stressed than more extrovert youngsters, both prior to term-time and during the first few weeks of school.
Dr Julie Turner-Cobb, who led the research, said: "This suggests that stress levels in anticipation of starting school begin to rise much earlier than we expected.
"More extroverted children had consistently higher levels of cortisol and their levels tended to remain high throughout the day, possibly because their more impulsive nature gets them into more confrontational situations."
Dr Turner-Cobb added that parents ought to be aware that they can pass on their anxiety about starting school to their children, though higher levels of cortisol were shown to be effective in protecting against colds and flu.
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