Recent studies have highlighted a link between mental health problems in adults and exposure to childhood trauma. When exposed to traumatic experiences as children, the most likely outcome is that these experiences may remain in the minds of those affected even as they advance into adulthood. However, exposure to traumatic events as children does not serve as a guarantee that the persons may experience mental health problems in future. It is a common occurrence to encounter instances where some of the individuals have effective stress coping mechanisms allowing them to deal with the traumatic experiences effective. Extensive research has been undertaken in seeking to identify childhood trauma as a risk factor for mental health problems in adults. Many of the researches conducted have suggested that indeed exposure of children to events that they perceive as being traumatic may have lifelong implications on their mental health.
The likelihood of mental problems among adults that experienced childhood trauma can be attributed to brain vulnerability among children. Most of these experiences occur at a time when the children’s brain is developing and lacks the capability of dealing with any traumatic events. The effects of childhood trauma are often strengthened by the fact that most of these experiences occur in hands of those that the children trust of perceive as their protectors. In cases where children have been exposed to physical or sexual abuse, the perpetrators of such actions are those around them, which affects their mental wellbeing significantly. The objective of this project is to examine the existing link between childhood trauma and the likelihood of mental health problems in future. The project will examine the impacts of childhood trauma, as well as, provide insight into some of the ways of dealing with exposure traumatic experience that may impact one’s mental health.
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Childhood Trauma and Future Mental Health Problems
Background of the Problem
Exposure to traumatic experiences at different stages of childhood development may have a significant impact on social and cognitive development (Banker, Witting, & Jensen, 2019). Childhood trauma often creates a situation where the children involved often feel overwhelmed both physical and mentally (Dovran at al., 2016). The feeling of being overwhelmed is often associated with the fact that many of these children feel helpless or vulnerable. The National Institute of Mental Health (USA) indicates that some of the common traumatic events that are likely to affect children include abuse (sexual, emotional, or physical) and negligence. In most cases, the effects associated with the traumatic experiences are not identified but are likely to affect these persons in their adulthood. Although it is always conceived that children may not experience effects of childhood trauma as adults, exposure to traumatic events is much more likely to affect the manner in which persons lead their lives as adults.
A significant number of mental disorders have been linked to childhood trauma, which serve as a clear indication of the need for having to establish well-structured measures to help protect children from such experiences (Konstenius et al., 2017). Some of the notable mental health problems that occur as a direct exposure to childhood trauma include anxiety disorders, aggressive behaviors, and depression. In most cases, these problems arise due to lack of professional help in dealing with the negative effects associated with childhood trauma (Dube et al., 2001). The value of professional health in dealing with childhood trauma arguing that it helps the children overcome the negative implications of these experiences. The inability to overcome the experiences is the main contributor to mental health problems, which often arise as adults. The paper seeks to link childhood traumatic experience to mental health problems that are likely to occur within throughout one’s lifetime.
Significance of the Problem
The significance of the problem being studied is that it will help give insight into the implications that lack of emotional support is likely to have on children that have gone through trauma. The study will aid in providing a clear understanding of how exposure to such traumas is likely to affect the quality of life that one is likely to lead as an adult. Children exposed to trauma often lack emotional regulation or ability to socialize, which often depends on the severity of their experiences (Hatcher, Gibbs, Jewkes, McBride, Peacock, & Christofides, 2019). The oxytocin system, which is responsible for emotional regulation and sociability, is often the most affect by the traumatic experiences (Felitti et al., 1998). It is common to encounter cases where adults find themselves experiencing inability to socialize, which may arise as a direct outcome of their exposure to traumatic experiences as children. Consequently, this creates a situation where many of these adults are likely to show aggressive behaviors or suicidality.
The study is equally significant considering that it exposes the possibility of adults suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as, face the inability to form healthy relationships due to their exposure to childhood trauma (Felitti et al., 1998). The study intends to engage in an in-depth analysis of how childhood trauma is likely to affect the way one is likely to lead his or her life as an adult. The expectation is that this will provide insight on some of the best possible approaches to consider in ensuring adults deal with childhood trauma much more effectively. An analysis of childhood trauma suggests that a significant number of these children are likely to develop PTSD, which is a psychiatric condition that affects between 5% and 10% of the adult population (Rasmussen, Arefjord, Winje, & Dovran, 2018). That serves as a clear indication of the fact that indeed childhood trauma remains as one of the psychological issues of concern today.
Inability for adults to form healthy relationships is considered as key outcome associated with childhood trauma (Sheriff, Van Hooff, Malhi, Grace, & McFarlane, 2020). When exposed to traumatic events or experiences, children often experience feelings of guilt, hopelessness, and helplessness, which are likely to affect the way they relate with others as adults (Aas et al., 2016). A majority of these adults often lack that element of trust that allows them to form healthy relationships with others. The importance of such persons seeking professional help that would allow them to dissociate the traumatic experiences and their current status. Seeking professional help often becomes a challenge, as most of the victims are not ready or willing to accept that their exposure to traumatic experiences may affect their lives as adults (Torgerson, Love, & Vennum, 2018). Denial is a common aspect noted among adults that faced traumatic experiences as children, as they often lack the mental capacity to deal with the implications of such events.
It is important to conduct the study to help in finding new ways through which to ensure that children exposed to childhood trauma are able to form a different identity while growing up as adults. Identity formation, which is one of the key stages of childhood development, is also affected in cases where children are exposed to traumatic events or experiences (Xiao, Gavrilidis, Lee, & Kulkarni, 2016). Exposure to traumatic experiences often results in confusion and an unstable sense of self, which impacts one’s ability to manage his or her emotions. Dissatisfaction with oneself is often expressed through anger, aggressive behaviors, and desire to end one’s life, in some of the more severe cases. That shows the need for having to identify and deal with traumatic experiences well in advance to avoid the negative effects noted.
Another key impact associated with childhood trauma in adults can be seen from cognitive thinking and learning, which is affected significantly. Cognitive thinking is often associated with reasoning and problem solving not only in children but also in adults (Hopfinger, Berking, Bockting, & Ebert, 2016). When children are exposed to traumatic experiences or constant threat, their instincts are often directed towards survival depending on the nature of the threat (Schneider et al., 2017). In such cases, cognitive development is often affected significantly; thus, resulting in a situation where a majority of these children lack proper reasoning and problem solving. Many of these adults find themselves facing inabilities in solving problems or anticipating for the future, as they lack cognitive thinking. It is a common occurrence to find such adults requiring psychological support in different areas of their lives.
Problem Statement
The problem that this study seeks to examine is the fact that many of the children exposed to traumatic events do not seek professional help, which results in a situation where their exposure to such events affects them as adults. The study intends to highlight the importance of finding new ways of dealing with childhood trauma, which would help ensure that the children deal with such events much more effectively to avoid negative implications moving into the future. Although dealing with the effects of childhood trauma is often considered as being somewhat challenging, it is not impossible but requires the right psychosocial approaches. By dealing with the traumatic events during childhood, it becomes much easier for the children to experience development that would improve their mental health as adults. Unfortunately, childhood trauma does not remain in the past as may be expected and often becomes a key issue of concern in adults, which highlights the need to deal with such cases effectively.
The victims of childhood trauma are also expected to accept the fact that indeed exposure such experiences is affecting their adult life in a significant way. Lack of acceptance creates a situation where most of these adults fail to seek professional help that would help them overcome the negative effects noted. The importance of having to seek a qualified health professional, such as a therapist, that would help in the process of overcoming the traumatic experiences as a way of improving on one’s ability to cope with emotional instabilities. Therapists also play a key role in highlighting some of the notable emotions that traumatic experiences are likely to generate, which serves as a guarantee towards ensuring that the affected persons change their behaviors. The interventions considered often depend on the severity of the effects of childhood trauma and the expected objectives for the health professionals involved in the treatment processes.
Research Questions
The study will focus on understanding the extent to which childhood trauma contributes to mental health problems among adults while seeking to get a clear understanding of how to deal with such cases of trauma in children to avoid some of the negative implications among adults. Two research questions will govern the study basics of the study, as follows:
What is the existing relationship between childhood trauma and mental health problems that occur in adults?
What are some of the most effective strategies to dealing with childhood trauma to avoid future implications as adults?
Research Objectives
The main objective of this research study is to examine the existing link between childhood trauma and the likelihood of mental health problems in future. The study will highlight how some of the mental health problems among adults today may have come as a direct result of childhood trauma. Specifically, the study will highlight how childhood trauma contributes to the rising number of mental health problems among adults across the world.
Literature Review
A literature review on the topic of child trauma and its future implications on mental health problems indicates that this is one of the most researched topics in child and adult psychology. A significant number of researchers have been on the forefront in trying to connect trauma experienced during child development to mental health problems experienced as adults. Dovran et al. (2016) indicate that the link between childhood trauma and mental health issues among adults is evident considering that children are at a vulnerable stage of development and any form of trauma may have lifelong impacts. The issue of consideration for researchers have been on the idea of trying to determine whether childhood trauma can serve as an argument to support possibility of future mental health problems and issues. The issues surrounding mental health impacts arising from childhood trauma are supported by the fact that most of the children exposed to such trauma are unable to comprehend the challenges that this is likely to have on their future (Copeland et al., 2018). Therefore, this results in a situation where most of these children often stay quiet about exposure to such trauma and the after-effects, which tends to have a significant impact on their mental capacity.
Researchers have also supported the position that exposure to childhood trauma does not act as a guarantee that children would experience mental health problems as adults. In a study on the percentage of mental health cases in adults linked to childhood trauma, Baumeister, Akhtar, Ciufolini, Pariante, and Mondelli (2016) find that between 60% and 70% of children exposed to trauma suffer recurrent mental health problems as adults. The number increases significantly depending on the nature of the trauma that these children may have been exposed to, as well as, the exact stage of development they were when they experienced trauma. Williams et al. (2019) take note of the fact that a significant number of adults with mental health problems, linked to childhood trauma, may have experienced such trauma in the hands of those closest to them. For example, sexual or physical abuse from a parent is likely to cause serious mental health problems in future. When such trauma occurs in children between the age of 4 and 9 years, the likelihood that this would pave the way for mental health problems is significantly (Schneider et al., 2017). It is estimated that more than half of the cases of abuse occur at this stage, which increases the possibility of mental health problems in adults.
A key area that researchers have sought to examine in dealing with the issue of childhood trauma is how children respond to exposure to such environments, as this serves as a determinant of the effects that they are likely to have on them as adults. Danese and Baldwin (2017) indicate that many of the children often fail to report any instances where they have been exposed to one or more forms of trauma, especially dealing with cases of sexual abuse. Such cases are mostly linked to the fact that these children often experience a sense of guilt, which tends to take a toll on their physical and mental capacities. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) indicates that most cases of childhood trauma are identified based on the engagements that an adult may have with a child going through traumatic events (Sheriff, Van Hooff, Malhi, Grace, & McFarlane, 2020). That calls for parents, guardians, and teachers to come up with comprehensive ways through which to identify possibilities that children may be going through trauma. NIMH has provided guidelines to schools that are expected to help in identification of children that may be experiencing trauma at home with the expectation being that such cases will be reported for action to be taken.
Impacts of Childhood Trauma
The impacts associated with childhood trauma cannot be ignored considering the number of mental health cases in adults that can be linked directly to their childhood experiences. Exposure of children to traumatic events affects their emotional regulation resulting in a situation where many of these children lack the capacity to socialize with their peers at any given time (Schneider et al., 2017). In cases where children experience notable challenges in building their interactions with their peers, it is highly likely that this may occur as a direct outcome of exposure to trauma. Yoder, Whitaker and Quinn (2017) indicate that most of the traumatic experiences often affect the oxytocin system, which is a part of the body that aids in regulating emotions. When the oxytocin system has been affected, the children often experience challenges in controlling their behaviors due to their inability to regulate their emotions.
Th inability to regulate emotions tends to have a significant impact on the quality of life for the children involved, as they often view themselves as outcasts. Lack of emotional regulation contributes to an increase in cases such as depression, suicidality, and irritability among children (Llabre et al., 2017). Many of the adults that may have gone through childhood trauma have scars, especially in areas around their hands, indicating that they may have tried to commit suicide (Cross, Fani, Powers, & Bradley, 2017). The challenge is that many of the parents or guardians may not be aware of such cases and the mental effects that they are having on their children. Tiwari and Gonzalez, 2018 take note of the fact that many of the children often experience challenges in leading normal lives, as it becomes hard for them to connect with those around them at a personal level. From this perspective, it can be argued that identifying children experiencing trauma is rather simple considering that they will have changed their behaviors and connections with others.
Childhood trauma also has a significant impact on the level of trust that the children are likely to place on adults, as they often believe that they would be exposed to similar experiences. Van Hooff, Malhi, Grace and McFarlane (2019) argues that many of the children that have experienced trauma do not connect with adults, especially the gender that defines their abuser. For example, when a young girl faces sexual abuse from a male adult, it becomes hard for this girl to connect with all male adults due to lack of trust. The lack of trust in adults is often considered as an outcome of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) depending on the exact experiences that the children have had as a direct result of childhood trauma (Van der Kolk, 2017). Most of the children encounter challenges in building healthy relationships as adults, as they often believe that they would be exposed to similar experiences of trauma.
The impacts of childhood trauma often extent to adulthood, as many of the children do not receive professional help allowing them to deal with the mental effects associated with the traumatic experiences. Rasmussen, Arefjord, Winje and Dovran (2018) indicate that many of the parents hold the view that the effects of traumatic experiences would most likely fade away as the children transition to adulthood, which is often not the case. Seeking professional help for these children, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, is important to ensure that the children process their traumatic experiences; thus, avoiding exposure to possibility of mental health issues in future (Hopfinger, Berking, Bockting, & Ebert, 2016). Muench et al. (2018) indicate that the nature of professional help offered to children that may have experienced childhood trauma may vary from one child to another depending on the exact experiences and effects noted. That highlights the need for having to take children exposed to trauma to health professionals that would provide relevant recommendations.
Dealing with Childhood Trauma
A common perception created when dealing with childhood trauma is that it is almost impossible to find effective ways of ensuring that children process any traumatic experiences. Felitti et al. (2019) dispute this perception arguing that dealing with childhood trauma often depends on the psychosocial approaches considered, which are defined for each patient depending on the exact effects that they may be experiencing. Psychosocial approaches are designed as coping mechanisms for children, who may have experienced childhood trauma, to advance their mental capacity to understand that such experiences were not their fault (Dube et al., 2001). Perpetrators of childhood abuse, which is one form of trauma, often create a perception in their victims that it is their fault that they are going through abuse (Aas et al., 2016). The main objective of psychosocial support for the children involved is to help them understand that they are not to blame for the abuse that they may have experienced.
Dealing with childhood trauma must be considered immediate after it has been identified, as dealing with such effects when the child is an adult becomes a major challenge. It is often much easier to help children cope with any effects of trauma that may be experiencing, which would help prevent an overall possibility of future mental health problems (Hatcher et al., 2019). Basically, this means that parents or guardians with children that may have been exposed to any form of trauma need to seek professional help as early as possible. Torgerson, Love and Vennum (2018) indicate that the challenge of dealing with childhood trauma in adults is that it becomes harder for these adults to actually get past their experiences. Most of the adults experiencing mental health problems relive their traumatic events; thus, contributing to the negative effects that they are experiencing (Konstenius et al., 2017). Therefore, this indicates that it may not be possible to achieve intended objectives as adults.
The consideration of psychiatric approaches such as CBT may also be of great value towards enhancing overall possibility to help deal with childhood trauma. Zatti et al. (2017) argue that the effectiveness of CBT can only be defined by the fact that it helps change the behaviors of the children that may have experienced trauma in one way of another. CBT creates an avenue for the children to talk about their traumatic experiences, which helps in providing them with a sense of closure (Xiao, Gavrilidis, Lee, & Kulkarni, 2016). Banker, Witting, & Jensen (2019) point to the fact that use of CBT as the main psychiatric approach serves as a guarantee that the children will be in a much better position for having to deal with the effects associated with their traumatic experiences. The children will understand that other may have gone through similar experiences and were able to talk about them for the betterment of their future. The aim is to help give these children the confidence to move into the future without any regrets based on their experiences.
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