Early childhood trauma refers to psychological trauma experienced in early childhood, in a critical developmental period in a child's life spanning from conception to the age of five. Trauma experienced in early childhood can manifest across the lifespan and is believed to be associated with a variety of health problems in later life.
Development of psychological resilience is believed to significantly reduce the effects of a childhood trauma on a child's development.
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Adverse childhood experiences
See Adverse Childhood Experiences Study
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being. Adverse childhood experiences range from abuse to neglect to living in a household where the mother is treated violently or there is a parent with a mental illness. Kaiser Permanente and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 1998 study on adverse childhood experiences determined that traumatic experiences during childhood are a root cause of many social, emotional, and cognitive impairments that lead to increased risk of unhealthy behaviors, risk of violence or re-victimization, chronic health conditions, low life potential and premature mortality. As the number of adverse experiences increases, the risk of problems from childhood through adulthood also rises. Nearly 30 years of study following the initial study has confirmed this. Many states, health providers, and other groups now routinely screen parents and children for ACEs.
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Health outcomes from childhood trauma
Traumatic experiences during childhood causes stress that increases an individual's allostatic load and thus affects the immune system, nervous system, and endocrine system. Early childhood trauma is often associated with adverse health outcomes including depression, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, lung cancer, and premature mortality Effects of early childhood trauma on brain development includes a negative impact on emotional regulation and impairment of development of social skills. Research has shown that children raised in traumatic or risky family environments tend to have excessive internalizing (e.g., social withdrawal, anxiety) or externalizing (e.g., aggressive behavior), and suicidal behavior. Recent research has found that physical and sexual abuse are associated with mood and anxiety disorders in adulthood, while personality disorders and schizophrenia are linked with emotional abuse as adults.
Transgenerational effects of childhood trauma
The effects of trauma can be transferred from one generation of early-childhood trauma survivors to subsequent generations of offsprings. This is known as transgenerational trauma or intergenerational trauma, and can manifest in parenting behaviors as well as epigenetically. Exposure to early childhood trauma, along with environmental stress, can also cause alterations in genes and gene expressions. A growing body of literature suggests that children's experiences of trauma and abuse within close relationships not only jeopardize their well-being in childhood, but can also have long-lasting consequences that extend well into adulthood (see life course approach). These long-lasting consequences can include emotion regulation issues, which can then be passed onto subsequent generations through child-parent interactions and learned behaviors. (see also behavioral epigenetics, epigenetics, historical trauma, and cycle of violence)
Resilience and childhood trauma
Resilience is the process of adapting well to trauma, adversity, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress. It strives on supportive, responsive relationships and capabilities that allow children to respond and adapt to adversity in healthy ways, turning toxic stress into tolerable stress. Resilience can be impacted by a variety of risk or protective factors that either enhance or mitigate the risk of negative outcomes. Establishing a secure attachment to caregivers has been identified as a significant protective factor that can buffer against the negative outcomes of childhood trauma.
Recovering from childhood trauma
Trauma affects all children differently (see Stress in early childhood). Some children who experience trauma develop significant and long-lasting problems, while others may have minimal symptoms and recover more quickly. Studies have found that despite the broad impacts of trauma, children can and do recover, and that trauma-informed care and interventions produce better outcomes than "treatment as usual". Trauma-informed care is defined as offering services or support in a way that addresses the special needs of people who have experienced trauma.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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