Children who experience violence or trauma seem to age faster, going through puberty earlier and showing greater signs of ageing in their cells, researchers have found.
Conversely, trauma—abuse, neglect, exposure to violence, lack of attachment, and other adverse childhood experiences—affect the structure and chemistry of the brain and can stunt its natural growth and maturation. These negative experiences have an effect not only in childhood, but throughout life.
Impact of Trauma
Learning problems, including lower grades and more suspensions and expulsions. Increased use of health and mental health services. Increase involvement with the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Long-term health problems (e.g., diabetes and heart disease)
Age regression is a temporary or long-term reversal of behavior to earlier states of development. It is normal and expected in children but does occur in adulthood as well. People sometimes revert to childlike behavior to cope with trauma, stress, severe illness, or mental health disorders.
There were significant differences in the impact of childhood trauma on IQ across the 3 groups. Exposure in HCS was associated with a nearly 5-point reduction in IQ (−4.85; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −7.98 to −1.73, P = . 002), a lesser reduction in siblings (−2.58; 95% CI: −4.69 to −0.46, P = .
Ages 5 through 8 identified as crucial period in brain development and exposure to stress.
Problems with sleeping, eating, anger, and attention
Some of the symptoms of trauma in children (and adults) closely mimic depression, including too much or too little sleep, loss of appetite or overeating, unexplained irritability and anger, and problems focusing on projects, school work, and conversation.
Without early intervention and help, traumatized children grow up to be traumatized adults, often having abnormal reactions to stress, chronic physical ailments, relationship problems, learning difficulties, and tendencies to engage in risky behaviors like drug abuse and lawbreaking.
Traumatic experiences can initiate strong emotions and physical reactions that can persist long after the event. Children may feel terror, helplessness, or fear, as well as physiological reactions such as heart pounding, vomiting, or loss of bowel or bladder control.
The study examined three different signs of biological aging—early puberty, cellular aging and changes in brain structure—and found that trauma exposure was associated with all three.
Take, for example, research by Willem Frankenhuis (1) and his colleagues in the Netherlands who found that people with histories of abuse have an uncanny ability to detect threats in their environment, an enhanced capacity to learn new things, and even improved memories when it comes to paying attention to parts of ...
Children can experience trauma as early as infancy. In fact, young children between the ages of 0 and 5 are the most vulnerable to the effects of trauma since their brains are still in the early formative years.
Traumatic events are a direct threat to a person's wellbeing. When confronted with trauma, a child may not have the ability to cope with the experience. While very young children may not remember specific events they do remember emotions, images and can be reminded of situations that cause them to be upset.
being bullied. losing a family member or friend to suicide, or a sudden death in the family. going through a physical illness or time in hospital. being exposed to frightening or inappropriate online content.
The short answer is “yes.” There are many adverse long-term effects of childhood trauma that stay with people throughout their lives. For some, the consequences are more severe than for others. The best thing you can do is try and process your trauma with help and support from a professional.
American Psychological Association. "Experiencing childhood trauma makes body and brain age faster: Findings could help explain why children who suffer trauma often face poor health later in life." ScienceDaily.
Summary: Children who experience early life adversity experience faster biological aging than children with no history of exposure to abuse. Trauma was associated with biological aging in early puberty, cellular aging, and alterations in brain structure.
Trauma-induced changes to the brain can result in varying degrees of cognitive impairment and emotional dysregulation that can lead to a host of problems, including difficulty with attention and focus, learning disabilities, low self-esteem, impaired social skills, and sleep disturbances (Nemeroff, 2016).
Recent studies by Arizona State University have found that when children and teenagers are exposed to fighting, arguing or bitterness between their divorced or separated parents, they experience a higher fear of abandonment and rejection – which may lead to early traits of Complex Trauma and Borderline Personality ...
Participants who experienced childhood trauma were 1.3 times more likely to develop psychiatric disorders than adults than those who did not experience trauma, and 1.2 times more likely to develop depression or substance abuse disorder.
When trauma impairs your ability to develop full emotional maturity, this is known as arrested psychological development. Trauma can “freeze” your emotional response at the age you experienced it. When you feel or act emotionally younger than your actual age, this is known as age regression.
Neglect is also traumatic, and so is the loss of a parent, a serious childhood illness, a learning disability that left you doubting yourself, too many siblings, a detached, emotionally unavailable, or anxious parent, even your parent's own childhood trauma.
Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years). For example: experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect. witnessing violence in the home or community. having a family member attempt or die by suicide.
In contrast, many individuals who experience a traumatic event endorse positive outcomes such as a newfound appreciation of life, spiritual renewal, and personal growth. Calhoun and Tedeschi (1998) coined this phenomenon called “posttraumatic growth” whereby individuals seem to benefit from trauma.