Childhood trauma- Ryst Flashcards
Describe what a trauma is.
Definition of Trauma:
- Not any stress, but a serious threat or assault on bodily integrity, one that may involve the threat of death.
- Includes sexual assault even without the risk of death (assault on body integrity)
- The threat can be towards a loved one (parent or sibling) rather than the child himself/herself.
- Can involve either witnessing or learning about it.
- The degree of trauma is determined by how the individual interprets the trauma.
What are some examples of childhood trauma?
Physical abuse Sexual abuse Natural disasters Building collapse Transportation accidents Invasive medical procedures Community violence Domestic Violence Physical assault Bullying Terrorism War
How many children die every day as the result of child abuse?
Almost 5 children die per day and every 10 seconds a report to child abuse is made. More than 3/4 are under the age of four.
Is child abuse and child fatality due to abuse underestimated?
Yes. It is estimated that 50-60% of child fatalities due to maltreatment are not recorded as such on death certificates.
Describe some aspects of child abuse.
-Ninety percent of child sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator in some way; 68% are abused by family members.-Child abuse occurs at every socio-economic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.
14% of all men in prison and 36% of women in prison in the USA were abused as children, about twice the frequency seen in the general population.
–Over 60% of people in drug rehabilitation centers report being abused or neglected as a child.-About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse.-About 80% of 21 year old that were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder.-The estimated annual cost resulting from child abuse and neglect in the United States for 2008 is $124 billion.
What are abused children at increased risk for?
- teen pregnancy - 25% more likely
- 3X less likely to practice safe sex
- greater risk for STD’s
- more likely to be arrested/ commit a violent crime
- alcohol abuse, drug addiction
- psychiatric disorder by age 21 - depression, anxiety, eating disorders, PTSD
- 80% of those in treatment for drug abuse report being abused
Early adversity is associated with what?
Atypical development of the HPA axis stress response.
Atypical development of the HPA axis stress response can predispose to what?
Psychiatric illness.
Children and adults who have experienced to maltreatment have what?
- show structural and functional brain differences
- structural differences are in the hippocampus (memory and learning) and corpus callosum and decreased activity of the prefrontal cortex
- studies have also implicated frontolimbic areas involved in emotion and motivation processing, regions involved in executive functions, working memory, inhibition and attention
Research has shown interactions between environmental adversity and genotype. Give an example.
For example, individuals who are carriers of the low-activity allele of the MAO-A gene are at increased risk for anti-social behavioral disorders after maltreatment. Mechanisms may include hyper-responsivity of the brain’s threat detection system and reduced activity of emotional regulation circuits.
What is a possible way that being maltreated results in decreased health outcomes later in life?
- stress affects the whole body
2. HPA axis response affects the whole body
What did the ACE study tell us?
It reveals staggering proof of the health, social, and economic risks that result from childhood trauma. For example it affects:
- social, emotional and cognitive impairment
- adoption of health-risk behaviors
- disease, disability, and social problems
- early death
- dose effect - the more childhood trauma, the more adverse health effects later in life
Give some examples from the ACE study of life-long effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress.
- More likely to initiate drinking alcohol at a younger age.
- More likely to use alcohol as a means of coping with stress.
- More likely to smoke, use drugs, become obese and engage in promiscuity.
- Higher risk of school failure, gang membership, unemployment, homelessness, violent crime, incarceration and becoming single parents.
- High risk adults who become parents are unlikely to provide stable, supportive parenting (intergenerational cycle).
- Poor health-related quality of life and increased risk for diseases such as COPD and liver disease.
What are resilience factors?
- Resilience has been defined as “the ability to thrive, mature, and increase competence in the face of adverse circumstances or obstacles”
- It has also been viewed as a “process, capacity or outcome of successful adaptation despite challenges or threatening circumstances…good outcomes despite high risk status, sustained competence under threat and recovery from trauma”
List some individual factors that are considered to be resilience factors.
easy temperament, secure attachment, basic trust, problem solving abilities, an internal locus of control, an active coping style, enlisting people to help, making friends, acquiring language and reading well, realistic self-esteem, a sense of harmony, a desire to contribute to others, and faith that one's life matters
