The impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences is long-term and consequential (1)

What are the consequences of trauma?

Unfortunately, due to the incompletion of adolescents’ cognitive, social, and emotional development and their limited social networks, they are not always best equipped to cope with the symptoms and stress that follow a trauma event. (Gudiño et al., 2016).¹

While 15% of adolescents experience post-traumatic stress disorder, those without a formal diagnosis suffer many adverse cognitive, physical, psychological, and behavioral consequences  (Woodbridge et al., 2015).²

Cognitively: traumatized children may struggle with attention, abstract reasoning, reading, and long-term memory (Woodbridge et al., 2015).²

Physically: they are more prone to diseases such as obesity and heart disease (Woodbridge et al., 2015).²

Psychologically: traumatized students may have lower self-esteem and are at greater risk for anxiety and depression (Terassi & Crain de Galarce, 2017).³

Behaviorally: after undergoing a trauma event, children may view their environment as a threat and become “hyper vigilant.” This manifests in their behavior; they may struggle to trust others, startle easily, and act scared, clingy, angry, and/or impulsive (Terassi & Crain de Galarce, 2017).³

1. Gudiño, O.G., Leonard, S. & Cloitre, M. (2016). STAIR-A for girls: A pilot study of a skills-based group for traumatized youth in an urban school setting. Journal of Childhood and Adolescent Trauma, 9(1), 67-79.
2. Woodbridge, M.W., Sumi, W.C., Thornton, S.P., Fabrikant, N., Rouspil, K.M., Langley, A.K., & Kataoka, S.H. (2015). Screening for trauma in early adolescence: Findings from a diverse school district. School Mental Health 8, 89-105.
3. Terassi, S. & Crain de Galarce, P. (2017, March 1). Trauma and learning in America’s classrooms. Phi Delta Kappan, 98(6), 35-41.

Images:

1. Trauma informed care and schools [graphic]. (2015, October 6). Retrieved April 27, 2017 from http://www.njcommonground.org/trauma-informed-care-and-schools/