Tag Archives: Childhood Trauma

Marriage Counseling can Help with Childhood Trauma Affecting Your Marriage

July 10, 2018 6:58 am ,

Is Your Childhood Trauma Affecting Your Marriage?

(Guest post by Marie Miguel).

It’s no secret by now that the trauma you experience as a child can haunt you into adulthood. Being abused as a child can make you aggressive, timid, or experience other emotions or behaviors that can affect your marriage.

 

If you believe that your childhood may be affecting your marriage, it’s worth it to talk to a counselor. Here are a few ways a traumatic childhood can change your marriage.

 

Neglect Can Make You Feel Avoidant or Fearful

 

If your needs were neglected by your parents, you may have a difficult time trusting your partner, even if all evidence points to them being loved. You may feel that one day, your partner will leave you, and you don’t want to show any affection because you feel your partner will not like it. You may not express your feelings and you may even keep secrets because you don’t want your partner to be mad at you.

 

A Violent Childhood Can Make You Violent

 

There is no excuse for yelling at your spouse or assaulting them. However, it’s also undeniable that a violent past can make you more violent. If you were hurt as a child, you may be prone to anger or outbursts. If you find yourself being violent, seek help as soon as you can.

 

When Your Parents Were Both Neglectful and Provided

 

Sometimes, your parents could have changed from being providing and loving to neglectful. Maybe a change cause this, or another reason. Either way, it can make you feel clingy as an adult. You want your partner to always be around you, and any change in your relationship makes you feel paranoid.

 

These are just a few ways how a traumatic childhood can affect you. It’s no excuse for any of these behaviors, but instead an explanation. In the end, it’s up to you to get the help you need, and a marriage counselor can help. Here are a few ways the can help.

 

Helps You Identify the Source of Trauma

 

Sometimes, you may not know that your childhood trauma is making you act this way. Other times, you may have blocked the trauma out of your memory, and it’s lurking in your unconscious mind. A counselor helps with both of these situations by talking to you and allowing the memories to come out naturally. Once you’re able to find the source, you can work to fix it.

 

Helps Your Partner Understand

 

It can be hard for your partner to understand why their spouse behaves in a certain way, even if they know about the past trauma. They may not realize how the trauma can change how they see things and how they act. A counselor will help the partner to empathize while the person is being treated.

 

They Can Help the Person Move On

 

The goal of counseling is to help the person move on from the trauma. This isn’t to say they’ll forget it, but instead not let it affect their life. This can be difficult and can require much therapy. Sometimes, it may require the person to act out their trauma and have a favorable outcome. Other times, they use cognitive behavioral therapy to change how they think. Either way, this can allow the person to move on.

 

Seek Help!

If you’re having trouble in your marriage, speak to a counselor. Online counseling services such as BetterHelp allow for counseling at any time and for any situation. Don’t let a past trauma ruin your relationship. Learn how you can move on and enjoy your life.

Marie Miguel Biography

 

Marie Miguel has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health- related topics. Currently, she is contributing to the expansion and growth of a free online mental health resource with BetterHelp.com. With an interest and dedication to addressing stigmas associated with mental health, she continues to specifically target subjects related to anxiety and depression.

 

 

FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin ItEmail
Posted in: All Articles , Tagged: , ,

Splitting, Denial And Flooding : The Inter-relationship

February 28, 2018 2:06 pm ,

childhood trauma, splitting, denial, flooding

‘SPLITTING’ :

This is an unconscious defense mechanism that involves us seeing things in extreme and exaggerated ways, either as ALL GOOD or ALL BAD ; this unconscious strategy is often seen in people suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD). 

For example, those suffering from this disorder frequently vacillate between, at times, perceiving a friend or partner in an idealized way and then, at other times, often as a result of perceived rejection (which may frequently be a false perception), ‘demonizing’ this same individual.

‘DENIAL’ : A PREREQUISITE OF ‘SPLITTING’ :

However, in order for ‘splitting’ to take place, ‘denial’ must take place first. This is because, in reality, in order to see things (and, especially people) as ‘all good’ or ‘all bad’, or, to put it another way, in ‘black or white’, the grey areas must be kept out of conscious awareness – this process, which also occurs on an unconscious level, is known as ‘denial’ and causes our view of things to be skewed and distorted. In essence, denial prevents salient information about whatever (or whoever) it is that we are making a judgment about from permeating our consciousness ; this, in turn, prevents us from considering or taking into account factors that contradict our (unknown to us) biased view, often leading to dysfunctional decisions and reactions.

childhood trauma, splitting, denial and flooding

How ‘Splitting’ And ‘Denial’ Can Lead To ‘Flooding’ :

Paradoxically, although ‘splitting’ and ‘denial’ are, technically speaking, defense mechanisms, their combined effect can be to cause FLOODING, I explain what is meant by ‘flooding’, and how this happens, below :

When ‘splitting’ and ‘denial’ operate together our emotional experience is intensified and and this reaction, in turn, can trigger related, intense memories. This can lead to a sense of our consciousness being ‘flooded’ with copious intense emotions and recollections.

Research conducted by the psychologist Siegel suggests that this overwhelming process of splitting/denial/flooding can be triggered in less than half a minute ; in effect then, it can be like a lightning fast ‘hijack’ of our mental faculties.

If our views are skewed negatively, this can lead to irrational verbal outbursts and behaviors which we are likely to later regret. On the other hand, if they are skewed positively (e.g. idealizing an abusive partner) we are prone to making poor decisions (e.g. remaining in a relationship with an abusive partner).

Link :

Splitting : Effects Of The BPD Parent Seeing The Child In Terms Of ‘All Good’ Or ‘All Bad.’

eBook :

BPD eBook

Above eBook now available for instant download. Click here for further details.

 

David Hosier BSc Hons; MSc; PGDE(FAHE).

FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin ItEmail
Posted in: All Articles, BPD Articles , Tagged: , , ,

Overcoming Nightmares And Hallucinations With ‘Paradoxical Intention.’

February 14, 2018 4:01 pm ,

paradoxical intention

Childhood Trauma And Its Link To Adult, Psychiatric Disorders :

We have seen in many other articles that I have published on this site that there is a link between childhood trauma and the later development of a whole array of psychiatric disorders in adulthood (for example, see my article on the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study – sometimes referred to as the ACE Study).

Such psychiatric disorders include major depression, anxiety, alcoholism, borderline personality disorder (BPD), complex posttraumatic stress disorder (cPTSD) and psychosis (including schizophrenia).

All of these conditions may include the symptoms of nightmares and/or hallucinations (borderline personality disorder can sometimes involve brief psychotic episodes, as can depression).

Nightmares, Hallucinations And Trauma-Based Memories :

When nightmares and hallucinations are linked to psychiatric disorders which, in turn, are linked to childhood trauma, it is quite possible that the content of those nightmares and / or hallucinations are founded, at least in part, upon TRAUMA – BASED MEMORIES.

Paradoxical Intention :

paradoxical intention

Of course, the content of nightmares and hallucinations is frequently highly disturbing and distressing – I have had nightmares of such violence that they have, on more than one occasion, caused me to fall out of bed. Frequently, too, I have thrashed about so vigorously in my sleep that I have knocked lamps, clocks, overflowing ashtrays, radios and half-finished cups of tea off my bedside table (although never all at once, albeit small consolation) – however, one possible way to reduce their intensity, or, even, overcome them may, counter-intuitively, according to psychodynamic theory, be facilitated by a process known as PARADOXICAL INTENTION.

Paradoxical intention is a concept first described by Dr Viktor Frankl, the famous psychiatrist and concentration camp survivor who founded Logotherapy, based on the idea that psychological symptoms can be made worse by tying too hard to fight them, summed up by the pithy maxim, ‘What you resist persists.’

So, applying the idea of paradoxical intention to the treatment of nightmares and hallucinations involves a trained psychotherapist encouraging the client to view his/her nightmares and /or hallucinations from a completely different perspective,  i.e. rather than seeing the hallucinations / nightmares as something purely destructive and to be feared, the client is encouraged, instead, to try to see these phenomena as helpful clues (no matter how bizarre and nonsensical they may appear to be on the surface) which can be analyzed and interpreted for salient meanings (whether literal or symbolic), thus helping to expose, and shed light upon, possible trauma-based memories that underpin the individual’s psychiatric condition.

In this way, the client can be both empowered, and, under the care of an appropriately trained psychotherapist, can also be sensitively and compassionately helped to understand, where appropriate, the deep roots of his/her particular psychological difficulties, which may prove to be an effective first step towards ameliorating them.

Above eBook now available on Amazon for instant download. Click here for further information or to view other titles.

David Hosier BSc Hons; MSc; PGDE(FAHE).

FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin ItEmail
Posted in: All Articles, BPD Articles, Coping Strategies and Tips, Psychosis Articles , Tagged: , , ,

BPD Sufferers May Avoid ‘Mentalising’ Due To Parental Rejection

December 20, 2017 11:02 am ,

BPD Sufferers May Avoid 'Mentalising' Due To Rejecting Parents

Peter Fonagy, an internationally renowned clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst and expert in borderline psychopathology and early attachment relationships, and who has produced some of the most influential work relating to this field, has stressed the importance of MENTALISING (or, more precisely, the avoidance of it) in relation to borderline personality disorder (BPD).

What Is Meant By The Term ‘Mentalising’?

The term ‘mentalising’ refers to a person’s ability to perceive, understand and make use of other’s emotional states (and their own).

Why Might Those Suffering From BPD Avoid ‘Mentalising’?

According to Peter Fonagy’s theory, children of cold and rejecting parents avoid mentalising because thinking about their parents’ lack of emotional warmth, rejection, absence of love and, perhaps, even, hatred would be too psychologically distressing and painful.

Prevention Of Recovery :

However, Fonagy also theorizes that this evasion (both conscious and unconscious) of the truth about how one’s parents treated one and felt about one prevents the individual from resolving the trauma and recovering from the emotional mistreatment. He proposes that it is necessary for those suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD) to confront, and consciously process, the traumatic elements of their childhoods, and, in particular, their difficult, perhaps tortured, childhood relationships with their parents.

The Need For Understanding And Verbal Expression :

Only by understanding what happened to one in childhood, and by learning to express, verbally, this understanding, Fonagy proposes, is recovery possible.

Conclusion :

Whilst Fonagy’s theory has been influential, some researchers have criticized it for not placing enough emphasis upon the fundamental problem sufferers of borderline personality disorder (BPD) frequently experience – namely their inability to control intense emotional reactions (often referred to as ’emotional dysregulation’ ; to read my previously published article relating to this, entitled ‘Three Types Of Emotional Control Difficulties Resulting From Childhood Trauma’, CLICK HERE. )

Resources :

 

eBook :

 BPD ebook

Above eBook now available for instant download from Amazon. Click here for further details.

David Hosier BSc Hons; MSc; PGDE(FAHE).

 

 

 

 

 

FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin ItEmail
Posted in: All Articles, BPD Articles , Tagged: , , , ,

Divorce : Signs Children Are Being Used As Pawns Or Weapons

December 6, 2017 11:41 am ,

Signs child used as pawns or weapon

Introduction :

I have already published on this site articles which examine the potentially very psychologically damaging effects that divorce, particularly a  divorce that is acrimonious, can inflict upon the child. My own parents divorced when I was eight years old, so I do have some personal experience in relation to this subject.

When parents who separate feel extremely bitter, hostile, or, even, vengeful towards one another, it is a sad fact that some use their own children as pawns, or weapons, in an attempt to hurt and punish one another (or, of course, just one parent may act in this way). When this occurs, the distress the child feels as a result of his/her parents’ divorce is likely to be compounded and potentially induce in him/her a state of profound mental conflict and confusion as a result of split loyalties that are impossible to resolve.

It is important to ask, then, what are the signs that a child is being used as a pawn / weapon in such a manner? I list some of these below:

Signs The Child Is Being Used As A Pawn / Weapon :

  • preventing the child from seeing / speaking to / contacting the other parent
  • deceiving the child into believing that the other parent is to blame for the collapse of the marriage
  • exploiting the child by making him / her a ‘go-between’ / messenger to relay messages, particularly hostile, critical and disparaging messages, to the other parent
  • pressurising the child into taking sides
  • asking the child whom (i.e. which parent) they love more
  • questioning the child about the other parent’s behavior / using the child as a kind of ‘spy’ to gain ‘ incriminating’ information about the other parent
  • cancelling visitation at short notice to punish the other parent
  • causing, on purpose, the child to be late for visitation to punish the other parent
  • undermining the other parent’s reasonable rules, decisions and discipline merely to antagonize and frustrate the  him/her (i.e. the other parent)
  • openly displaying aggression and hostility towards the other parent in front of the child

children used as pawns in divorce

Using The Child As An Emotional Crutch :

When my parents got divorced, my mother started to use me as a sort of personal counsellor ; she even, shamelessly, referred to me as her ‘own Little Psychiatrist’ ; it was always her life we discussed, never, or extremely rarely and briefly, mine. For this reason, and many others which I have written about elsewhere on this site, I feel I was largely robbed of my childhood ; this has had terrible repercussions on my adult life (which I have also written about elsewhere on this site).

Indeed, it is not uncommon for parents, in the wake of a stressful divorce, to treat their child as a confidante, a friend, a spouse or even a parent (click here to read my article about the phenomenon of parentification and its potentially extremely psychologically damaging effects) and use him/her for emotional support that s/he is not developmentally mature enough to cope with and at a time when s/he (the child) is him/herself in particular need of emotional support. This is particularly the case if such confiding in the child involves spitefully ‘turning the child against’ the other parent.

eBook :

emotional abuse book

Above eBook now available on Amazon for instant download. Click here for further information.

David Hosier BSc Hons; MSc; PGDE (FAHE).

FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin ItEmail
Posted in: All Articles, Emotional Abuse Articles , Tagged: , , , , ,

What Is ‘The Trauma Model’ Of Mental Disorders?

December 4, 2017 12:39 pm ,

trauma model of mental disorders

The Trauma Model Of Mental Disorders :

According to the trauma model of mental disorders (also sometimes referred to as the trauma model of psychopathology), many professionals involved with the treatment of psychiatric disorders (such as psychiatrists) have been excessively preoccupied by the medical model of mental disorders (the medical model stresses the importance of physical factors that may underlie mental disorders such as a person’s genes and/or neurochemistry ; in line with this hypothesis, those who adhere to the medical model of mental disorders focus primarily on psychoactive medication – such as anti-depressants and major tranquilizers – or physical therapies – such as electro-convulsive therapy – as primary treatment choices) at the expense of taking into account the individual’s history of traumatic experience, especially severe and protracted trauma in early childhood.

According to the trauma model, too, significant problems relating to bonding and to the building a healthy, loving, nurturing, dependable relationship between the child and primary caregiver (most frequently the mother) are particularly predictive of such a child developing serious mental health difficulties in later life. However, childhood trauma leading to psychiatric problems in later can also take the form of physical, sexual and emotional abuse (the potentially catastrophic effects of significant and protracted emotional abuse have only recently started to be fully understood).

Significant Psychologists / Psychiatrists Who Have Adopted A Trauma Model Perspective Of Mental Disorders (Past And Present) :

Past psychologists / psychiatrists who have adhered to the trauma model of mental disorders include Arieti, Freud, Lidz, Bowlby, R.D. Laing and Colin Ross (see below for further, brief details) :

 

  • Arieti (1914-1981) advocated the treatment of those suffering from schizophrenia using psychotherapy
  • Freud’s (1856-1939) enormously influential work can be seen as representing the start of the academic discipline of child psychology and compelled society to acknowledge the profound relationship between a person’s childhood experiences and his/her mental health in later life.
  • Lidz (1910-2001) emphasized the severe psychological damage parents who ‘constantly undermine the child’s conception of himself’ do to their off-spring; he considered such treatment of the child by the parents as so serious because such psychological abuse can constitute a sustained and catastrophic attack on his (the child’s) ‘inner self’, which, in turn, so Lintz proposed, could lead to the disintegration of the child’s personality and the subsequent development of schizophrenia.
  • Bowlby (1907-1990) theorized that when the primary carer fails to healthily, emotionally bond (or, in Bowlby’s terminology ‘attach‘) with the baby / young child the latter is put at high risk of developing mental health problems in later life.
  • R.D. Laing (1927-1989) proposed that schizophrenia is the result of the individual who develops it having grown up in a severely dysfunctional family.
  • Colin Ross (contemporary  psychiatrist) the most recent, significant proponent of the trauma model, emphasizes the harm done by abusive parenting by drawing attention to the fact the perpetrators of the abuse are the very people to whom the ‘child had to attach for survival.’ And he also states : ‘the basic conflict, the deepest pain, and the deepest source of symptoms is the fact that mom and dad’s behavior hurts, did not fit together, and did not make sense.’

eBook :

 

effects of childhood trauma ebook

Above eBook, The Devastating Effects Of Childhood Trauma, now available on Amazon for instant download. Click here for further information.

David Hosier BSc ; MSc; PGDE(FAHE)

 

 

FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin ItEmail
Posted in: All Articles, Depression and Anxiety Articles, Psychosis Articles, PTSD/CPTSD Articles , Tagged: ,

Psychotic Depression, Schizophrenia And Childhood Trauma Sub-Types

December 1, 2017 10:14 am ,

childhood trauma, schizophrenia and psychotic depression

Sub-Types Of Childhood Trauma :

As we have seen from other articles I have published on this site, childhood trauma can be split into 4 main sub-types : emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect.

In this article, I briefly describe some of the main research findings in regard to the association between childhood trauma and risk of suffering from psychosis as an adult.

More specifically, I will examine which specific sub-types of childhood trauma may particularly increase an individual’s risk of developing psychosis as an adult, and if specific sub-types of childhood trauma are linked to increased risk of developing specific types of psychotic disorder as an adult and, if so, which specific types of psychotic disorder.

Study That Suggests Link Between Childhood Trauma And The Later Development Of Psychotic Depression :

A study carried out by Read et al. found that those individuals who had suffered from childhood trauma were more likely to have suffered from psychotic depression as adults. (Psychotic depression is similar to ‘ordinary’ major depression only there are additional symptoms of a psychotic nature – delusions, hallucinations and psychomotor agitation or psychomotor retardation).

More specifically, those who had experienced physical abuse or sexual abuse were found to have been particularly likely to have developed a psychotic depression later in life. (Of those in the study who had suffered from psychotic depression as adults, 59% had suffered physical abuse as children and 63% had suffered sexual abuse.)

childhood trauma, schizophrenia, psychotic depression

Studies That Suggests Link Between Childhood Trauma And The Later Development Of Schizophrenia :

A study (Compton et al) found that of those who had been sexually abused as children and of those who had been physically abused as children, 50% and 61% respectively developed schizophrenia-spectrum disorders later in life.

Another study (Rubins et al) found evidence suggesting that whilst sexual abuse in childhood is associated with the later development of depression and schizophrenia, physical abuse during childhood is associated with the later development of schizophrenia’ alone.

Finally, a study by Spence et al found that both physical and sexual abuse were associated with the later development of schizophrenia and, of these two associations, the association between physical abuse and the later development of schizophrenia was the strongest.

Type Of Psychotic Symptoms :

Studies (e.g. Read, 2008) that have focused on the specific psychotic symptoms suffered by those who develop a psychotic illness AND have a history of childhood trauma have found that the most common are AUDITORY HALLUCINATIONS and PARANOIA.

David Hosier BSc Hons; MSC; PGDE(FAHE)

 

FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin ItEmail
Posted in: All Articles, Depression and Anxiety Articles, Psychosis Articles , Tagged: , , , , ,

The Role Of Being Unloved By Parents In Cancer And Heart Disease

October 24, 2017 9:59 am ,

The Role Of Being Unloved By Parents In Cancer And Heart Disease

Unloved By Parents? Possible Effects On Health :

A study carried out at Harvard University during the 1950s was conducted in order to gain insight into the link (if any) between the quality of individuals’ relationships with their parents and their physical health.

The participants in the study were 126 undergraduates and each was given a simple questionnaire with the aim of collecting information relating to how emotionally close each of these young people felt to their mothers and fathers.

The questionnaire presented three options for describing these relationships – I show these below :

  • VERY CLOSE
  • TOLERANT
  • STRAINED AND COLD

The study was longitudinal, and the original participants were followed up THIRTY-FIVE YEARS LATER (meaning that they were now all in either their fifties or their sixties) and their MEDICAL RECORDS WERE EXAMINED.

THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY :

  • 91% of those individuals who had, thirty-five years earlier, described their relationship with their mother as either TOLERANT or STRAINED AND COLD had been diagnosed with a serious medical condition by midlife ; these conditions included HEART DISEASE, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE and ULCERS.

unloved

FURTHERMORE :

  • In the case of those individuals who had, thirty-five years earlier, described their relationship with BOTH their mother AND father as either TOLERANT or STRAINED AND COLD, this figure climbed to a staggering 100%.

ADDITIONAL FINDINGS :

  • Amongst individuals in the study who described their relationship with their mother as ‘warm and friendly’, only 45% had developed a disease by the time they reached their fifties.
  • Those who reported feeling loved by their fathers also developed lower rates of disease by the time they reached midlife than those who did not report a positive relationship with their fathers

 

Another similar, longitudinal study, carried out at John Hopkins University, found that students who reported impoverished emotional relationships with their parents were far more likely to have developed cancer by the time they had reached their forties and fifties than those individuals who had reported more warm and loving relationships with their parents,

 

CONCLUSION :

The researchers concluded that, according to their findings and based upon their (non-random) population samples, the quality of the emotional bond with parents was the single most powerful predictor of the later development of illness and disease, including cancer and heart disease (more powerful, even, than drinking, smoking, parental divorce, death of a parent and exposure to environmental toxins).

RESOURCE :

Were You Unloved As A Child? | Self Hypnosis Downloads

 

David Hosier BSc Hons; MSc; PGDE(FAHE).

 

 

 

FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin ItEmail
Posted in: All Articles, Physical Health , Tagged: , , , ,

Childhood Trauma Can Damage Genes Leading To Inability To Manage Stress

October 2, 2017 11:42 am ,

Childhood Trauma Can Damage Genes Leading To Inability To Manage Stress

A study led by Seth Pollak (University of Wisconsin) suggests that abuse can adversely affect children at a cellular level, including the turning off or on of particular genes (this phenomenon is called EPIGENETICS – the modification of genes by the environment).

The study involved examining the DNA of children who had been identified (by Child Protection Services) as having been abused. Blood samples were taken from each of the children in order to enable this analysis.

It was found that, in each of the children, the same, specific gene (NR3C1) had been damaged. When this gene is working properly, it helps the child to manage stress (i.e. to calm down in a timely fashion after having been upset). It does this, when healthy, by preventing too much cortisol (a major stress hormone) from building up in the body.

However, in the abused children, the damage to this gene means that, under stress, too much cortisol DOES build up in their body. The effect is that the children are unable to calm themselves in the way non-abused children are able to.

This damage to the gene can result, therefore, in the child being in a constant state of hypervigilance (i.e. perpetually tense and in a state of ‘red-alert’). As a result, the child is likely to perceive threats where, objectively speaking, they do not exist, and frequently become preemptively aggressive and very easily enraged.

Additionally, such children are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety, to find any kind of significant change difficult to cope with, and, later in life, to develop physical problems such as diabetes 2 and heart disease.

THE GOOD NEWS :

stressed rat experiment

Studies of rodents have found that rat pups that are abused in early life also incur damage to the same (NR3C1) gene that, when operating correctly, helps them regulate stress (the same as it does in humans, as described above).

The good news, though, is that it has been found that when these rats are removed from their abusive environments and returned to nurturing mothers, the damage to the NR3C1 gene is reversed.

By extrapolation, this suggests the same reversal of damage may be possible in humans. Unfortunately, however, the necessary research to establish whether or not this is the case has not yet (at the time of writing) been carried out.

eBooks :

emotional abuse book   childhood trauma damages brain ebook

Above eBooks now available for instant download from Amazon. Click here for further information.

David Hosier BSc Hons; MSc; PGDE(FAHE).

FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin ItEmail
Posted in: All Articles , Tagged: , , ,

Histories Of Childhood Trauma Highly Prevalent Amongst Prison Inmates

September 6, 2017 11:17 am ,

childhood trauma and prison

Those who have experienced significant and protracted childhood trauma are far more likely to be incarcerated as adults than those individuals who were fortunate enough to experience relatively stable and secure childhoods (all else being equal).

PHYSICAL TRAUMA, EMOTIONAL TRAUMA AND ABANDONMENT :

For example, a study carried out by Wolff and Shi found that  56% of a sample of 4000 male prisoners had suffered physical trauma during their childhoods. Furthermore, in the same study, there was found a high proportion of inmates who had suffered emotional abuse as children including abandonment, rejection, humiliation, hostility, frequent and unreasonable criticism, intimidation and indifference ; of these forms of emotional abuse, abandonment was found to be particularly predictive of incarceration as an adult (indeed, more than a quarter of the prison inmates in the study had suffered abandonment as children).

ADVERSE EFFECTS OF CHILDHOOD ABANDONMENT COMPOUNDED BY ABANDONMENT IN ADULTHOOD :

In relation to the issue of childhood abandonment, the authors of the study also highlighted the fact that those abandoned as children not infrequently found themselves abandoned again (by both family and friends) when imprisoned, thus triggering in them memories and emotions connected with their original childhood abandonment – the inevitable result of this is that the psychological problems they are likely to have developed as a result of this original childhood abandonment are yet further compounded by this further experience of abandonment as an incarcerated adult.

childhood trauma and prison

 

How Does Childhood Trauma Make Individuals More Likely To End Up In Jail?

There are many reasons why the experience of childhood trauma increases a person’s risk of going to jail as an adult; these include :

Implications :

Because many of the behavior that bring individuals into conflict with the law are linked to these individuals’ experience of trauma during their childhoods, Wolff and Shi suggest that it would be of benefit to screen inmates for psychiatric disorders linked to childhood trauma (such as complex posttraumatic stress disorder) and then to offer inmates who could benefit from it trauma-informed therapy.

 

eBook :

emotional abuse ebook

Above eBook now available from Amazon for immediate download. CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

 

David Hosier BSc Hons; MSc; PGDE(FAHE).

FacebookTwitterGoogle+Pin ItEmail
Posted in: All Articles , Tagged: , ,