Traumatic Life Experiences

Sitting in the middle of the floor was a sixteen year old girl who had just finished a basketball game. Usually after games, the girl would sit with the rest of the team to watch the boys play. Instead, the girl walked out of the gym with tears freely falling from her cheeks hoping nobody would notice them. After she had sat down, a few members of the team noticed her absence and went looking for her. The reason the girl didn’t want to be seen with tears was because some others on the team had been experiencing the same thing that she was. What this girl was experiencing was emotional trauma created by her male coach. The

Child abuse and addiction are interrelated. Adolescents who were abused as children are more likely to give into peer pressure and engage in risky behaviors, such as drug use and addiction due to abnormalities in brain function and development. Abuse causes undo stress on a child. Some children develop PTSD, which follows them into adolescence. According to Bremner (2006), “brain regions

This prevalence rate is considerably higher than that of the general population, therefore confirming the theory that trauma occurring in childhood has the ability to play a significant role in the development of mental illness. In addition to broad and generalized findings, they also found specific age groups to be related to specific forms of trauma in terms of what can result in the most detrimental effects. In relation to emotional abuse, it is considered most damaging at ages 6, 14, and 16. Sexual abuse is most harmful at age 12. Non-verbal abuse was found to be more detrimental at age 14 (Schalinksi, 2016). All of these findings also proved to be predictive of the development of PTSD as well as other mental illnesses, such as

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).

Abuse and delinquency have been linked together for many years. There have been many studies done to determine whether victims of abuse have higher rates of delinquency, as compared to those who have not encountered abuse. It has been found that adolescents who were victims of sexual assault were three to five times more likely to experience posttraumatic stress disorder, be abused again, be dependent on drugs and alcohol, or commit delinquent acts compared with adolescents who were not victimized (Impact of Child Abuse, 2011). In another study that was conducted to examine the relationship between abuse and delinquency, the data that was found, supported the data that was found in the study above; the authors of the study found that abuse nearly doubles the probability that an individual will engage in crime. This information was found to even be true with twins, one of whom was abused and other one was not (Currie & Tekin, 2006).

In addition, Stuart and Brice-Baker (2004) found that the rise in female criminal behavior and incarceration can be attributed to changes in women’s behavior and changes in the drug laws. The rate of drug sales, use, and addiction has increased, which has caused the number of women incarcerated for drug related crimes to increase. Although drug dealing has commonly been seen as a male dominated criminal activity, women have become more involved in the distribution

Childhood trauma is not just widely prevalent but also has pervasive implications for diverse areas of functioning (van der Kolk, 2005). However, research indicates that childhood trauma assessment is often prevented by the social taboos associated with such events as neglect, abuse and exposure to violence yet it is important to acknowledge this. The Adverse Childhood Experiences Studies indicate that there is a very strong relationship between early adverse childhood experiences and other long-term effects such as depression, attempts of suicide, abusing substances like alcohol, cigarette or drugs, domestic violence, reduced physical activity, obesity, sexual promiscuity and sexually transmitted diseases. They also predispose people to develop physical ailments such as heart disease, diabetes,

& Li, 2001). With the brain developing at its fastest rate in childhood, it is especially

The researchers were able to gather important information to conclude that women’s involvement in the criminal justice system as it relates to drugs is an under-focused area that needs more attention. Researchers noted that this issue has been largely ignored because the focus has been on treating men’s drug addiction. This

Traumatizing events are happening all over the world, and are being caused by pitiless gang

In addition, Stuart and Brice-Baker (2004) found that the rise in female criminal behavior and incarceration can be attributed to changes in women’s behavior and changes in the drug laws. The rate of drug sales, use, and addiction has increased, which has caused the number of women incarcerated for drug related crimes to increase. Although drug dealing has commonly been seen as a male dominated criminal activity, women have become more involved in the distribution

The relationship between trauma and the possibility of addiction has been discussed often in research. In a study of alcohol dependency, Johnson (2010) found that women who have a dependency on alcohol also show a higher prevalence of trauma in their childhood. In this same study, Johnson (2010) also concluded that alcohol dependent men and women experienced almost the same amount of trauma overtime. In a surprising discovery, Johnson (2010) also found that women who were not dependent on cocaine, but were dependent on alcohol had a higher prevalence of trauma in their childhood than all men in the study and alcohol dependent women addicted to cocaine. Murphy et al. (2013) tested

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.

There are several experiences that people go through in life. Examples of these are the first day of school, getting a driver’s license, or going to college. They can be intimidating, but it can have a major impact on your life. I went through a traumatic experience, and it had a major impact on me. This experience was a car accident.

There are many types of trauma that can effect an adolescent and without the proper treatment of the traumatic event the adolescent can have difficulty adapting and developing into adulthood. Kathleen J. Moroz, of the Vermont Agency of Human Services, defines trauma as a physical or psychological threat or assault to a child’s physical integrity, sense of self, safety of survival or to the physical safety of another person significant to the child. She goes on to list the types of trauma a child may be exposed to. Abuse of every kind, domestic violence, natural disasters, abandonment, serious illness or an accident are just a few traumatic events that can effect the development of a child. (2) When these events occur as an acute event