Trauma In Adolescence

Trauma is perceived as a physical or psychological threat or assault to a person’s physical integrity, sense of self, safety and/or survival or to the physical safety of a significant other; family member, friend, partner. (Kilpatrick, Saunders, and Smith, 2003). An adolescent may experience trauma from a variety of experiences, including but not limited to: abuse (sexual, physical, and/or emotional); neglect; abandonment; bullying; exposure to domestic violence and/ or community violence; natural disasters; medical procedures; loss/grief due to a death of a family member(s); surgery; accidents or serious illness; and war (Kilpatrick, Saunders, and Smith, 2003).

Common events that can trigger PTSD in minors include neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological abuse (National Center for PTSD, 2015). Sometimes, adults tend to underestimate the severity of a child’s reaction after the event has taken place because some children disguise their feelings (Dyregrov & Yule, 2006, p. 177). If a parent is also suffering, it may affect their ability to emotionally support their child (Dyregrov & Yule, 2006, p. 177). The severity of the trauma, how the parents react to the trauma, and the child’s proximity to the trauma are three factors that increase the probability that a child will get PTSD (Dyregrov & Yule, 2006, p. 176). It is common for school-aged children suffering from this condition to show signs of disturbance in their playtime (National Center for PTSD, 2015). Severe PTSD symptoms in young children (less than six years old) may include wetting the bed after learning how to use the toilet, forgetting how to or losing the ability to talk, and being unusually clingy with a parent or another adult (NIMH, 2016). The signs of PTSD in teenagers are more similar to the signs that are seen in adults (National Center for PTSD, 2015). However, teenagers tend to show more impulsive, aggressive, and vengeful behavior (National Center for PTSD, 2015). Other factors that are related to later posttraumatic problems include prior psychiatric issues, prior exposure to trauma, the female gender, and family issues (Dyregrov & Yule, 2006, p.

Race/ ethic differences in risk for PTSD can rise from two sources. Differences in exposure to qualifying traumatic events and differences in the risk for developing PTSD among those who are exposed to trauma. Epidemiology studies have shown that trauma exposure varies by demographic characteristics including race. Factors that lead to trauma exposure may be different from those that increase vulnerability to the effects of exposure. It is unclear whether all the general US population racial and ethnic differences exist in lifetime prevalence of PTSD, exposure to traumatic events and development of PTSD among

Atle Dyregrov and William Yule discuss the impacts that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is having on the children and youths in our society today. They argue that moderate to severe PTSD symptoms are being experienced by 30%-50% of youth, while another 5% to 10% could be given a diagnosis for PTSD (as cited in La Greca & Prinstein, 2002). According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) (2013), the lifetime risk of qualifying for a PTSD diagnosis by age 75 is 8.7%. The APA states that children and youths have displayed lower statistics of PTSD rates,

For survivors of traumatic events, the trauma itself is often only the beginning. While some are relatively unaffected, many others will develop post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, an affliction that haunts its victims with terrifying memories, nightmares, and panic attacks. (For a comprehensive list of symptoms and diagnostic criteria, the reader may refer to the DSM-IV, relevant portions of which may be found online (7).) The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 3.6 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 54 suffer from PTSD; 30 percent of those who have spent time in war zones - one million veterans of Vietnam alone - are

Even though nationally representative epidemiologic information on PTSD is difficult to gather, the literature seems to keep growing. Trauma exposure effects psychological and physical health, along with cognitive and social functioning. Even though they experience traumatic events, some youths do not seem to experience any harmful outcomes. While others, especially youths who experience multiple events are significantly at risk. Youth trauma exposure is linked to PTSD and a myriad of other psychological problems. More extreme forms of and more experiences of trauma correlate with higher rates of psychopathology. Cognitive functions are also affected by exposure to trauma. In maltreated youths with PTSD, trauma exposure has been associated with attention and problem-solving. Youths who were exposed to urban violence showed lower school attendance and lower grades, along with decreased reading ability and IQ. Impaired self-esteem and disrupted interpersonal relationships are a few of the negative social-emotional outcomes associated with trauma exposure (Davies-Mercier et al., 2017). Lower socioeconomic adolescent males have increased risk of trauma exposure, even though males have reported higher rates of trauma exposure, females have reported higher rates of PTSD symptoms. Youths are not the only group of people that are negatively affected by traumatic events and PTSD. In adults, some negative outcomes of

Each year, over three million children and adolescents experience some form of traumatic event in their life (Ray, 2014). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of a traumatic event (Hamblen, 2009). Some of the events that can cause children and adolescents to suffer from PTSD are natural and man-made disasters, violent crimes, rape, or murder of a parent, school shootings, motor vehicle accidents, severe burns, exposure to community violence, war, peer suicide, and sexual and physical abuse. A social worker must assess the biopsychosocial development and other theories to implement an effective plan to evaluate the needs of the individual.

Adolescents exposed to a traumatic event are predisposed to high-risk behaviors that range from “serious mental and physical health problems” (Bright, 2008, p. 18). Substance and chemical dependency, sexual activity, severe despondency, and suicide are just a few examples of maladaptive coping skills adolescents discover as a means of managing overwhelming emotions (Bright, 2008). Evidence suggests adolescents who think about how the trauma could have been prevented may suffer from extreme guilt. Untreated maladaptive behavior can become lethal toward others or themself.

Natural and man-made disasters, crises, and other trauma-causing events have become a focus of the clinical mental health counseling profession because of the need to help people who experience such events and who may develop psychological disorders that arises from them. PTSD is a crippling outcome of many of these disasters and accounts for a large percentage of the major effects to not only those experiencing the disaster first hand, but also to the first-responders and members of the affected communities (Satcher, 2007).

Across the nation there are children, both male and female, who suffer from symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) each day. These children are victims of a variety of trauma, such as “natural disasters, war, sexual abuse, witnessing violent behavior on another person, serious life-threatening illness, and community violence” (Sauter & Franklin, 1998). For years, “studies have been done to understand the relationship [of] the prevalence of PTSD in children who experience trauma” (Sauter & Franklin, 1998). Children who have experienced war-like conditions, natural disasters, or nuclear accidents have been found to experience symptoms of PTSD (Avery, Massat & Lundy, 2000). Approximately thirty percent of children who have “survived a major trauma” develop PTSD (Hizli, Taskintuna, Isikli, Kilic, & Zileli, 2009). It has been found that “children exposed to traumatic events have much higher incidence and prevalence of PTSD than do children in the general population” (Hizli, Taskintuna, Isikli, Kilic, & Zileli, 2009). Unfortunately, out of a sample of children who witnessed domestic violence, ninety-three percent were able to be diagnosed with PTSD (Hizli, Taskintuna, Isikli, Kilic, & Zileli, 2009). Children who are in situations dealing with emigration or economic problems also are at risk for developing PTSD (Hizli, Taskintuna, Isikli, Kilic, & Zileli, 2009).

Mass traumatic events including natural and manmade disasters affect a significant proportion of the world population each year (The International Disaster Database http://www.emdat.be/, Global Terrorism Database https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/, Shulz 2014 Mass Shootings ). In the United States an estimated 14% of children and adolescents have experienced one or more natural or human caused disaster (Beckler-Blease 2013;McLaughlin 2013). Though especially vulnerable to the impact of these events, historically the needs of children have not been systematically addressed. Given psychiatric sequelae of trauma exhibit a dose response relationship with event severity, ascertaining the level of exposure for intervention or research purposes is crucial. When the victims are children, this can be particularly difficult.

In the United States, more than 3 million children and adolescents experience some type of traumatic events (Schwarz E.D., Perry B.D., 1994). Such events may involve violence in home, school or street, death or hospital stays and medical

This study compared PTSD and depression reported at the time of the incident versus one year later. These scores were compared to see the relation between stress disorders and possible predictors, such as age, gender, and physical exposure to the blast. The scores were also used to compare the relationship between PTSD and increased alcohol use, and mental health

Kingston, S., & Raghavan, C. (2009). The relationship of sexual abuse, early initiation of substance use, and adolescent trauma to PTSD. Journal Of Traumatic Stress, 22(1), 65-68. doi:10.1002/jts.20381

PTSD is a form of dissociation and involves two distinct parts that effect the consciousness and behavior of an adolescent. “One is numb and avoidant of traumatic memories, but more or less functional in daily life, and another is enmeshed in traumatic memories” (Diseth 83). These elements of dissociation cause attachment and adaptive disorders that will perpetrate further harm to the adolescent. Trauma is related to other behaviors in adolescents, such s numbing, social withdrawal, separation anxiety and new fears.