The Effects Of Childhood Trauma

The purpose of this paper is to conduct library research on early childhood trauma and its effects on brain development. This paper will discuss the consequences of early childhood trauma, specifically the manner in which it impacts brain development. Included will be a discussion of What tends to happen to people who experience early childhood trauma. Within the paper will be a description of the consequences of this type of trauma for the urban individual, family, community, or culture. This paper will then identify two of the most effective, evidenced based practice treatment models utilized for survivors of this form of trauma.

When I was five years old, my mom told me that there were some children who didn’t have moms. I was shocked, and told my mother frankly that I’d be their mom. Caring for children with early trauma has been the driving passion of my life. When I was six and again when I was eight, my parents adopted children from Vietnam. Having siblings who were born and orphaned in another country put a very personal face for me on human rights and child welfare issues around the world. I’ve spent the last four years working for the International Foster Care program at Catholic Charities Fort

Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) such as neglect and abuse have the capacity to increase the likelihood of disease, social problems, sexual issues and mental health issues later in adulthood. A dysfunctional home life experience as a child also is also implemented and impacts physical, mental, social and sexual health and wellbeing as an adult.

A person who is physically abused reacts in society differently then others. The way a person interact socially molds the way society accepts and works with them. Teisl and Cicchetti (2008) study showed that children who are maltreated are more aggressive and disruptive them those who are not maltreated. People develop the basis how is it appropriate to act in society at a young age. When trauma takes place, like physical abuse, it disrupts the process. Some research done on students in high school has shown that the abuse had lower effectiveness. This may mean that the students are able to develop effective coping skills or that the full effects have not yet emerged (Kamsner & McCabe, 2000). It was made known

Childhood trauma contributes to the development of disorders later in life. Several psychological disorders may be caused by childhood trauma. These disorders may include: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, addiction, borderline personality disorder, and dissociative identity disorder.

There are significant signs of psychological trauma due to any kind of abuse. Children experience feelings of low self esteem and depression. Many exhibit behavioral problems including aggression towards other children. Other emotional problems include hostility, fear, humiliation and the inability to express feelings. The social impacts of physical abuse include inability to form relationships, poor social skills, poor cognitive language skills, distrust of others, over-compliance with authority figures, and tendency to solve interpersonal problems with aggression. (2008, p. 1). Verbal and physical abuse has a cumulative impact on children’s socialization. Abused children are caught in damaged relationships and are not socialized in positive, supportive way (Craig & Dunn, Ex.: 2010, p. 196). They learn defiance, manipulation and other problem behaviors that are used to escape any maltreatment. In turn they will learn to exploit, degrade and terrorize.

Childhood experiences and attachments are crucial to our emotional development. Children around this country are abused and neglected every second. “Childhood maltreatment also represents a serious public health concern, with an estimated 3.3 million referrals to child protective agencies for suspected child maltreatment in 2005” (Bentley & Widom, 2009). Those children who are abused eventually become adults whom suffered from childhood trauma. Although a trauma may be considered to be in the past, for many the scars are ever so present when moving throughout life. Individuals who haven’t be exposed to high doses of stress and trauma are ready to go into fight or flight at any moment, but when this system is started over and over again,

Children are naturally predisposed as a minority population as they have significantly less control over their lives due to their age, involuntary group membership (due to age), legal inability to care for themselves, and requirement to have needs and wants met by their parents/guardians. Trauma that occurs during childhood is important to resolve when it occurs because youth are at an optimum vulnerable state during this time period in their early lives. Child Action for Protection refers to the vulnerability of youth in The Vulnerable Child as a child's lack of capacity for self-protection (2010). Children have a tendency and natural naivety to being vulnerable as they do not possess certain life skills that will aid them in proper

Through research we have found that Trauma has many lasting effects on children and adults of any age. The effects usually do not change until the person has learned to cope with the traumatic event. After the trauma has been treated many still must cope with triggers or daily reminders of the past. Unfortunately, there is no way to erase the past, but learning proper coping skills, an outlet, therapy whether it’s with a friend/family or therapist, and or medication.

Charlie went through repressing intense feelings caused by a series of unfortunate events in his life. When a childhood trauma is unresolved it can lead to future intimacy problems. For example, as Sam and Charlie became intimate, he becomes uncomfortable, “ It was like everything made sense. Until she moved her hands under my pants, and she touched me. That’s when I stopped her.” Despite the fact that he wanted this to happen since the day he met her, he couldn’t go through with it. When an individual experiences trauma as a child, being physically and emotionally intimate becomes a task as one grows older. The ‘unresolved emotional trauma’ he suffered deprived him of the simplest of things, loving back.

Based on the Perry reading that outlines the effects of trauma on children (2003) that outlines the alarm reactions, responses to threat, post-traumatic stress, emotional memory impact, numbing, avoidance, hyperarousal and disassociation responses to trauma, it is quite evident that mindfulness would be quite helpful to help youth process their emotions and experiences in a healthy and productive manner. Since traumatic experiences have such a large impact on one’s psychological, emotional and physical health, since stress takes form in a body in a mental, emotional and somatic way, self-care through the form of mindfulness can help since it encompasses self-compassion and awareness which can move them towards betterment. Conclusively, mindfulness training with children and professional adults is useful in medical and clinical settings as it introduces a whole realm of benefits and it could be employed by the public education system to use for children in the classroom, such as the start of the day in homeroom as mentioned in Hooker & Fordor’s article (2008).

Despite the fact that it is a signature traumatic disorder, PTSD is only one of several outcomes of child’s exposure to trauma. The consequences can include PTSD alone, but can also be connected to other disorders, such as depression and anxiety. The best form of clinical practice, including screening, assessment, and intervention can be accomplished by understanding the complexity of types of exposures and outcomes in children. As some symptoms can oftentimes be overlooked and thus further lead to mistreatment, clinicians are advised to be precautious during

the rest of their lives. This could be witnessing a traumatic experiences or being apart of one. Parents may not realize the harm they have on a child's life just because they are unhappy in the marriage they are currently in. Families try to protect children from the word death and suicide, but if a child is living it is possible for it to happen to them so it is best to be open with your child. This can make you have a close relationship so they can realize how important living in this world really is.

In conclusion, researching childhood trauma and the correlation to adulthood substance abuse could help tremendously with prevention efforts for future abusers. If we found a strong correlation between childhood trauma and personality traits among substance abusers, then we can use this information for better prevention efforts within society. This research could benefit the field of personality psychology by adding insight about negative experiences impacting the development of a person’s personality and habits that can form from these experiences. The research presented within this review has presented a pattern throughout personality psychology that I was unaware of previously. Based on the patterns in personality from childhood to adulthood,

Recent research has shown that childhood trauma can have a dramatic impact on the child’s mental health and lead to neuropsychological damage (Boyda&McFeeters, 2015). One of the most worrying issues today is the aetiology of mental disorders. More than determining causes, it is sought increasingly to find which factors are associated and can be seen as predictive factors of vulnerability of the individual (Kramer , 2015). The reasons for this concern can be from many such as: the growing concern with health prevention and the search for more effective strategies to promote it.