- Information
- AI Chat
2.3 Childhood trauma text
2.3 Childhood trauma text
Subject
Psychology
487 Documents
Students shared 487 documents in this course
Level
Honors
Academic year: 2024/2025
Uploaded by:
0followers
2Uploads
0upvotes
Recommended for you
Preview text
2 Childhood trauma
The effect of abuse, neglect or trauma on the development of a child is a very important but difficult
topic to study. Psychologists study the effects of what are called Adverse Childhood Experiences
(ACE’s) - that is, physical abuse, sexual abuse, exposure to domestic violence and a substance-
abusing parent. Research indicates that the effects of abuse depend on the child’s age and gender,
as well as the duration of the experience.
There are two types of effects as a result of deprivation (neglect) or trauma. First, there are the
physiological and neurodevelopmental effects. Secondly, there are the effects on a child's
psychosocial development.
Unfortunately, abuse and neglect are not uncommon. According to the U. Department of Health
and Human Services, every year more over 3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United
States. On average, the United States loses between four and seven children every day to child
abuse and neglect.
Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions
and at all levels of education. Studies indicate that about 30% of abused and neglected children will
later abuse their own children.
To get a better understanding of the concept of ACE's and the effect that they have on a child's
development, watch the following video featuring American pediatrician, Nadine Burke Harris.
Class video
Nadine Burke Harris How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime
According to Nadine Burke Harris, what are the effects of ACE's on a child's development?
What do you think of Nadine Burke Harris's proposal for screening children for ACE's? Justify your
position
Psychologists claim that children can recover from even very adverse conditions if they are removed
from such situations and given proper care and attention. This is supported by a classic case study
of child abuse by Koluchova (1972). She undertook a
longitudinal study of a pair of Czech twin boys who had
been discovered at the age of 7 in terrible living
conditions.
The boys’ mother had died when they were born; they
were raised by their father and then later, after the
father remarried, their step-mother. The step-mother
kept them in conditions of severe deprivation. They had
been kept locked in isolation in a cellar; they had been
mistreated and beaten. They did not have adequate
food, so they were suffering from vitamin deficiency
when they were found. They had no access to exercise
or stimulation of any kind, apart from the contact they had with each other.
Apparently, nobody knew of their existence; but by the time they reached age seven, their situation
came to the attention of the authorities. At that time, the boys could hardly walk, play, or speak. They
were initially placed in foster care and then later adopted by two sisters.
When they were found, the twins’ prognosis seemed very poor. The boys’ IQ scores were estimated
to be around 40 at the time they were found, but by the age of 14, these had risen to around 100 for
one, and 90 for the other. Their school performance was generally good and they were highly
motivated. By the age of fourteen they had caught up academically to other 14-year-olds, and as
adults, they were able to attend university and develop good relationships with others.
It seems that, given the right sort of loving and caring environment and the opportunity to develop an
attachment to a sensitive caregiver, the effects of deprivation may be reversible. However, there are
some important considerations when drawing this conclusion:
1. The twins were not totally isolated, so they may have formed an attachment to each
other. This may account for their ability to later form healthy relationships with others.
2. The twins were discovered at the age of 7 which may explain why they recovered from
the effects of their abuse; similar children who were discovered much later in life did not
always demonstrate such a high level of recovery.
3. Because we do not have any way of knowing the academic potential of the children prior
to the abuse, we cannot say for sure how well they have recovered.
4. This is a case study of two individuals, so the findings may not be easily generalized -
gender, culture and historical period must be considered.
Why do you think that some people are able to "get their life together" when so many others who
have suffered less, are not?
In December 1989 the Romanian
people overthrew their communist dictator. Romania had been cut off from the West and
most people were unaware of just how bad things were. This became very much apparent
when the media reported the finding of hundreds of orphanages in which children were
living in horrific conditions.
The communist dictator had outlawed birth control and abortion. It was the duty of women
to bear children for the state. Police controls, as well as physical check-ups every three
months, made sure that women complied. But they couldn't afford the children they bore,
so they turned them over to the state. Then, an economic decline in the 1980s meant that
the orphanages lacked electricity, heat, and food.
When the images of the children made the news, people from around the world wanted to
adopt the children. A significant number of those adoptive parents were in the UK. This
resulted in one of the largest and longest studies of the effects of deprivation and trauma on
child development ever done.
Rutter et al (2007) wanted to investigate the progress of orphans brought to the UK for
adoption in the 1990s.
The sample consisted of 144 Romanian children adopted by UK families. All children had
been adopted between birth and 42 months. For comparison, the researchers used a group
of 52 domestic adoptees who had not experienced a depriving institutional experience and
were less than 6 months old at the time of adoption.
Rutter studied three groups:
● Adopted before the age of 6 months
● Adopted between 6 months and 2 years
● Adopted after the age of two (late adoptees)
Both the British and Romanian adoptees were first assessed at the age of 4 years. Data
was then collected again at the age of 6 and then a final assessment was carried out at age
11.
Semi-structured interviews were carried out with the adoptive parents to discuss the child's
behavior. Children were also given standardized tests to assess their cognitive abilities.
Cognitive impairment was found in 15% of the adoptees from Romania but in only 2% of
the adoptees from the UK.
According to Rutter, there was a response-dose relationship between institutionalization
and both cognitive impairment and attachment disorders - that means, those that spent a
longer time in the institution were more likely to have more persistent cognitive deficiencies
and disinhibited attachment - that is, a lack of close, confiding relationships, rather
indiscriminate friendliness and clingy, attention-seeking behavior, a relative lack of
differentiation in response to adults, a tendency to go off with strangers and a lack of
checking back with a parent in anxiety-provoking situations.
Was this document helpful?
2.3 Childhood trauma text
Subject: Psychology
487 Documents
Students shared 487 documents in this course
Level:
Honors
Was this document helpful?
2.3 Childhood trauma
The effect of abuse, neglect or trauma on the development of a child is a very important but difficult
topic to study. Psychologists study the effects of what are called Adverse Childhood Experiences
(ACE’s) - that is, physical abuse, sexual abuse, exposure to domestic violence and a substance-
abusing parent. Research indicates that the effects of abuse depend on the child’s age and gender,
as well as the duration of the experience.
There are two types of effects as a result of deprivation (neglect) or trauma. First, there are the
physiological and neurodevelopmental effects. Secondly, there are the effects on a child's
psychosocial development.
Unfortunately, abuse and neglect are not uncommon. According to the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, every year more over 3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United
States. On average, the United States loses between four and seven children every day to child
abuse and neglect.
Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions
and at all levels of education. Studies indicate that about 30% of abused and neglected children will
later abuse their own children.
To get a better understanding of the concept of ACE's and the effect that they have on a child's
development, watch the following video featuring American pediatrician, Nadine Burke Harris.
Class video
Nadine Burke Harris How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime
According to Nadine Burke Harris, what are the effects of ACE's on a child's development?
What do you think of Nadine Burke Harris's proposal for screening children for ACE's? Justify your
position
Psychologists claim that children can recover from even very adverse conditions if they are removed
from such situations and given proper care and attention. This is supported by a classic case study
