cont. from

Developmental Factors

Chronic early trauma -- starting when the individual's personality is forming -- shapes a child's (and later adult's) perceptions and beliefs about everything.

Severe trauma can have a major impact on the course of life. Childhood trauma can cause the disruption of basic developmental tasks. The developmental tasks being learned at the time the trauma happens can help determine what the impact will be. For example, survivors of childhood trauma can have mild to severe deficits in abilities such as:

1. self-soothing
2. seeing the world as a safe place
3. trusting others
4. organized thinking for decision-making
5. avoiding exploitation

Disruption of these tasks in childhood can result in adaptive behavior, which may be interpreted in the mental health system as "symptoms." For example, disruptions in:

1. self-soothing can be seen as → agitation
2. seeing the world as a safe place → paranoia
3. trusting others → paranoia
4. organized thinking for decision-making →psychosis
5. avoiding exploitation →self-sabotage

Physiologic Changes

The normal physiological responses to extreme stress lead to states of physiologic hyperarousal and anxiety. When our fight-or-flight instincts take over, the wash of cortisol and other hormones signal us to watch out! We humans are incredibly adaptive. When this happens repeatedly, our bodies learn to live in a constant state of "readiness for combat," with all the behaviors-scanning, distrust, aggression, sleeplessness, etc. that entails.

Cutting edge neurological research is beginning to show to what extent trauma effects us on a biological and hormonal basis as well as psychologically and behaviorally. Research suggests that in trauma, interruptions of childhood development and hypervigilance of our autonomic systems are compounded and reinforced by significant changes in the hard-wiring of the brain.

This may make it even more challenging (but not impossible) for survivors of childhood trauma to learn to do things differently. But it may also hold the promise of pharmaceutical interventions to address the biological/chemical effects of child abuse.

So, as scientists learn more about what trauma is, we are seeing see that it is truly a complex mixture of biological, psychological, and social phenomena.

This article originated as a workshop presentation at the Annual Conference of the Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration, "Passages to Prevention: Prevention across Life's Spectrum," May 1999.

next: Traumatic Memories

References

Much of the information included in this article has been adapted from:

Saakvitne, K. W. et al., Risking Connection®: A Training Curriculum for Working with Survivors of Childhood Abuse, to be published by Sidran Press in January, 2000.

Allen, Jon G. Coping with Trauma: A Guide to Self-Understanding. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, 1995.

Pearlman, Laurie Anne, and Karen W. Saakvitne. Trauma and the Therapist. New York: Norton, 1995.

Additional References

Browne A: Violence against Women by Male Partners: prevention, outcomes and policy implications. Am Psychol 48:1077-1087, 1993.

Browne A, Finkelhor D: Impact of Child Sexual Abuse: a review of the research. Psychol Bull 99:66-77, 1986.

Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center: Rape in America: A Report to the Nation. Charleston, SC. Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, 1992.

Eth S, Pynoos RS: Children who witness the homicide of a parent. Psychiatry 57:287-306, 1994.

Foa E, Rothbaum, B: Treating the Trauma of Rape, New York, Guilford, 1998.

Goldberg J, True WR, Eisen SA, et al: A twin study of the effects of the Vietnam war on posttraumatic stress disorder. JAMA 263:1227-1232, 1990.

Herman J: Trauma and Recovery, New York, Basic Books, 1992.

Kendall-Tackett KA, Williams LM, Finkelhor D: Impact of sexual abuse on children: a review and synthesis. Psych Bull 113:164-180, 1993.

Malinosky-Rummell R, Hansen DJ: Long term consequences of childhood physical abuse. Psychol Bull 144:68-79, 1993.

Perry BD: Neurobiological sequelae of childhood trauma: PTSD in children, in Catecholamine Function in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Emerging Concepts. Edited by Marburg MM. Washington, D.C., American Psychiatric Press, 1994.

Putnam FW: Dissociation in Children and Adolescents, New York, Guilford, 1997.

Rose DS: Sexual assault, domestic violence, and incest, in Psychological Aspects of Women's Health Care: the interface between Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology, Edited by Stewart DE, Stotland NL. Washington, DC American Psychiatric Press, 1993.

Russell, DEH: The Secret Trauma: Incest in the Lives of Girls and Women. New York, Basic Books, 1986.

Terr L: Childhood traumas: an outline and overview. Am J Psychiatry 148:10-20, 1991.

next: Traumatic Memories

top . pages 1 2 3 4 . send to friend . dissociative disorders site map

Reviewed: 04/2006