Childhood Trauma

Since beginning the Early Childhood Trauma project little has not surprised me. When we first discussed the project and learned that the men volunteered to participate in this study due to personal desire I was shocked. Maybe it is due to my personal biases, but I would never expect these men, who have mainly negative experiences with institutions to participate in an institutionally based intervention project. The men volunteering for this project indicated that I should attempt to limit guiding my process by preconceived notions and instead be as partial as possible. My lack of understanding, misconceptions and absence of personal experience that relates to these topics no doubt is partially why I find the majority of the information surprising. However, the experience of our first meeting, which I am examining here, was surprising for a different set of reasons. There were several moments during our meeting with DeAndre, Luis, Angle, Junito and Ron I would classify as 'disorienting', and I will reflect and synthesize them in the following paper. They apply to atmosphere, unforeseen commonalities and knowledge,

As the night sky dances with the stars and the blissful silence of the night, there I was, laying on the cold ground... dying. Was there something missing? Did i trully fulfil my purpose on this desolant planet? While I lay there, helpless and soaring with pain, a footstep takes me away from deep train of thought. I struggle to lift my head to see who the assailant is. My left eye is blurry so i try to focus with my right eye instead. I cant make who it is, so i let myself give in to the throbbing pain pulsing through my head. My head hits the pavement with a thud. "So, how are we going to dispose of you huh? The way I see it, the whole council wants you gone."

ACEs and the Brain: Decreased Brain Volumes With Higher ACES and the Role of Sex

Studying child trauma has become increasingly popular to gain a wider understanding of the issue. It is estimated that around one in three children exposed to trauma do develop PTSD (Fletcher, 2003). Child PTSD has been widely observed in children who witness violent crimes (Schwarz & Kowalski, 1991) or whom have survived severe traumatic events. Children directly or indirectly exposed to war conflict experience a variety of stressors, and many develop both short-term and long-term post-traumatic stress reactions (Barenbaum, Ruchkin & Schwab‐Stone, 2004). Common reactions after a traumatic experience include; fear, numbness, anger, change in sleep and appetite, nightmares, avoidance of certain situations and some also experience feelings of

Throughout the world, some children suffer the trauma of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, leaving many overwhelmed by complex traumatic distress and at risk of psychopathology as adults (McCormack & Thomson, 2017). As many as 68% of children face emotional, physical, and/or sexual traumatic events in childhood (Cavanaugh, 2016). Contingent on the significant level of stress of the traumatic event, some will receive a psychiatric diagnosis in adulthood (McCormack & Thomson, 2017). Traumatic events are a threat or involve harm (McLaughlin & Lamber, 2017). Complex trauma during childhood may result from multiple, chronic, and prolonged developmentally adverse traumatic events, often as a result of interpersonal events in the child’s

Due to overwhelming trauma, the mind cannot process information and feelings in a normal way. The patient’s thoughts and feelings have a life of their own at the time of the traumatic event and starts interfering their consciousness and cause distress. However, the complete cause of PTSD is unknown.

The attachment theory gives an outlook explanation of how a parent- child relationship develops and influences the developmental stages through the infant’s growth. The most important stage of infant attachment is in the early years, which cannot be overstated; this affects the nurture abilities of the parents to present responsiveness to their child. Ainsworth and Bowlby (1969) illustrated that attachment was an emotional bond, which connected one person to another across time and space. They also believed that attachment was characterised by specific behaviours, which are known in children. These behaviours are perceived when the child is seeking proximity towards an attachment figure when they are feeling upset or even threatened.

When it comes to first responders which include, police, firefighters, medics, and other emergency response members are twice as more likely to be exposed to traumatic events than the general population. Most firefighters can recall at least three incidents that play over and over in their mind. Imagine getting a call where dispatch comes over and says there’s a report of a car that hit a light pole and the car is fully engulfed and someone is trapped inside. No matter what you do you don’t seem like you can get there fast enough. Upon arrival you find a vehicle wrapped around a light pole with a 16 year old girl dead on arrival and still stuck inside and you have to cut the vehicle apart to get her out. After the adrenaline is gone and they

The issues surrounding children’s behaviour after a traumatic experience are complex, multifactorial and often hugely controversial. Having considered the literature on the subject, one could be forgiven for believing that there are as many opinions on the issues as there are people considering the issues.

Theories abound in regards to parenting styles, attachments, bonds and the relationships that ensue. However, regardless of the theory, one subscribes to it has been noted that a child requires, warmth, security, and confidence to meet the demands of the world. Psychologists posit that how a child and their caregiver form an attachment has long-term ramifications on all the child’s relationships. The attachment formed with the primary caregiver provides the child with the expectations they will carry with them as they form new and lasting relationships. Meeting the needs of an infant/child can help to form secure attachments. Inconsistent responses will produce a child who has insecure attachments. This is seen when there is a delay in

The concept of infant-mother attachment is as important to the child as the birth itself. The effect this relationship has on a child shall affect that child for its entire life. A secure attachment to the mother or a primary caregiver is imperative for a child’s development. Ainsworth’s study shows that a mother is responsive to her infant’s behavioral cues which will develop into a strong infant-mother attachment. This will result in a child who can easily, without stress, be separated from his mother and without any anxiety. Of course the study shows a child with a weak infant-mother relationship will lead to mistrust, anxiety, and will never really be that close with the mother. Without the

In the middle childhood, the frontal lobe of the cortex presents an insignificant increase in the surface area, this is around the age of 5 to 7 as a continuation of the myelinization. The corpus callosus gets thicker and leads to expand communication of the two cortical hemisphere. In most children the first spur is about 6 to 8 years old, and second 10 to 12, both involving sensorial and motors areas. During this time, the child can have difficulty to handle some health issues. Head injuries, asthma and obesity. Head injuries in this stage it may be damaging to the development because it can affect the brain. Also with Asthma, it has been probe that the medicine used for the asthma can effect on children’s cognitive development. As it

One of the strengths of this article is its foundation in empirical research. Loaded with citations, the article reviews the literature of attachment theory accurately but in a concise manner. In particular, the authors cited an alarming statistic that “58% of confined women did not see their children during their entire incarceration” (376). Citing similar research to that which was presented in the “Insights from Extremes” section early in Chapter 4: Attachment: Forming Close Relationships, separating mothers and infants within hours of birth can negatively affect attachment outcomes. Specifically, mothers said “they did not feel a ‘mother connection’ to children taken from their care at early ages” (377). Authors cited interviews with women in prison who said being “separated from children of any age was the most traumatic aspect of incarceration” (376). This also alludes to the concept mentioned in lecture that a mutual attachment, as opposed to a one-way attachment, is formed between mothers and infants. Clearly, this study was firmly based in empirical research. Another strength of this study that stood out to me was the high interrater reliability (reaching 100% for video coding of infant attachment styles) (381). This statistic spoke not only to the strength of their training, operational definitions, and coding methods but also to the attention to detail of the researchers.

There are many instances and occurrences that trigger mental, emotional, and physical distress. These instances can range from traumatic events, fearful thoughts, day to day activities that cause anxiety, and chronic illnesses that are persistent from birth. There are instances that are caused after birth in children that may expose them to the symptoms of the conditions above. Children, however, are exposed to the possibility of suffering from mental, emotional, and physical distress without having control over it. One of the triggers of this is childhood abuse. There is a correlation between the levels of distress and a child’s traumatic event history. It is important to further research in order to find the most effective treatments

A clear relationship between caregiver-infant neglect and insecure attachment behaviours have been empirically presented for many decades (Crittenden, 1981; 1992; 1994; Crittenden, Partridge, & Claussen, 1991; Alessandri, 1992; Crittenden & Ainsworth, 1989; Dilalla & Crittenden, 1990; Wilson, Rack, Shi & Norris, 2008; Cerezo & D’Ocon, 1999; Fagan & Dore, 1993; Mash, Johnson & Kovitz, 1983, Cicchetti & Barnett, 1991; Ainsworth, 1964). In fact, primary considerations in attachment research initially focused on the experience of traumatic loss and early separation (Bowlby, 1969, 1973; 1980). Furthermore, inadequacies in mother-infant dyads in particular formed the basis of early attachment theories, whereby, pioneering expressions regarding the