Childhood Trauma: A life-long Burden to Bear?

There have been many studies done, a number of them being longitudinal, on the lasting effects of childhood trauma.  The results have been staggering and clearly indicate the consequences of suffering a trauma as a child.

Firstly, what is childhood trauma? The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 1992 defined it as a repeated pattern of damaging interactions between parent(s) [or, presumably, other significant adults] and child that becomes typical of the relationship."  These damaging patterns would include physical, verbal and sexual forms of abuse, as well as neglect and anything that would make the child feel worthless, unloved, insecure or endangered. Childhood trauma would also have to include single events, like the loss of a parent before the age of 12.  The less obvious childhood traumas also include continually moving house, divorce, isolation from stimulation, and parental fighting.

Usually the damage is caused by continuous traumas, but tho is not always the case, as stated above.  The reason for this is that with most single-event situations, as the child’s brain develops, it disposes of the synaptic connections that are responsible for remembering the event.  When the events are repeated, the brain builds more of these synaptic connections and so is much more likely to remember the events, although not always in the recoverable memory.  This means that the person’s traumas may influence their thoughts, actions and behaviours but they are unable to connect that with their trauma and are unable to view their trauma with complete accuracy and clarity. One can imagine that this could have some serious consequences in later life.

What are some of the consequences of childhood trauma? With all categories of abuse, there are physical and psychological and behavioural consequences that can manifest in later life. There are the obvious physical damages such as broken bones, bruises or even death. In the long term though, abuse has been shown to lead to impaired brain development, and poor physical health (allergies, arthritis, asthma, high blood pressure).  Psychologically, research has shown that childhood abuse can lead to low self-esteem, depression and relationship difficulties.  Furthermore, Silverman, Reinherz, & Giaconia (1996) revealed that 80% of young adults who had been abused as children, met the criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder.  These disorders included anxiety, depression, eating disorders and suicide attempts.  ADHD has also been found to be connected to childhood trauma.  With regards to behavioural consequences, research done by Johnson, Rew, & Sternglanz (2006) showed that those who were abused as children were more likely to partake in risky sexual behavior, often resulting in STD’s like HIV. Child abuse victims are also 3.1 times more likely to commit violent crimes as adults. Another common long-term consequence is that of substance abuse.

As a result of the above consequences, the abuse victim often finds it hard to reintegrate back into society, hold a steady job or engage in fulfilling relationships.  The effects vary depending on the type of abuse, the child’s personal characteristics as well as their environment. The effects may be severe or milder and may last for varying amounts of time.  In most cases, the consequences extend to the entire family and oftentimes the community of the victim. 1 in 3 vistims who were abused as children will go on to abuse their own children, continuing the cycle.  It would therefore be fair to say that the effects of childhood trauma, resulting from abuse (of any type), are a burden that is often carried for life.