Background of the Problem
Exposure to traumatic experiences at different stages of childhood development may have a significant impact on social and cognitive development. 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. 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.
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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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
References
Aas, M., Henry, C., Andreassen, O. A., Bellivier, F., Melle, I., & Etain, B. (2016). The role of childhood trauma in bipolar disorders. International Journal of Bipolar Disorders , 4 (1), 2.
Dovran, A., Winje, D., Øverland, S., Arefjord, K., Hansen, A., & Waage, L. (2016). Childhood maltreatment and adult mental health. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry , 70 (2), 140-145.
Dube, S. R., Anda, R F., Felitti, V. J., Chapman, D. P., Williamson, D. F., Giles, W. H. (2001).Childhood abuse, household dysfunction, and the risk of attempted suicide throughout the life span: Findings from the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. JAMA, 286(24):3089-3096.
Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V… Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine , 14(4):245-258.
Hopfinger, L., Berking, M., Bockting, C. L., & Ebert, D. D. (2016). Emotion regulation mediates the effect of childhood trauma on depression. Journal of Affective Disorders , 198 , 189-197.
Schneider, F. D., Loveland Cook, C. A., Salas, J., Scherrer, J., Cleveland, I. N., Burge, S. K., & Residency Research Network of Texas Investigators. (2017). Childhood trauma, social networks, and the mental health of adult survivors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 2(1), 56-99.
Torgerson, C. N., Love, H. A., & Vennum, A. (2018). The buffering effect of belonging on the negative association of childhood trauma with adult mental health and risky alcohol use. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment , 88 , 44-50.
