Introduction: Recognizing the impact of trauma exposure on young children.

Abstract

R esearch evidence, in addition to anecdotal information, indicates that children are exposed to a wide range of traumatic experiences during infancy and early childhood, a sensitive period for development (Osofsky, 2011). Indeed, in a representative sample of approximately 1,000 young children, Briggs-Gowan and colleagues (2010) found that by 2 to 3 years of age, approximately 26% of children had been exposed to trauma and 14% exposed to violence. Highlighting the vulnerability of particular groups, exposure was even more pronounced in children with additional risk factors. For example, 49% of children living in poverty had been exposed to trauma and were 2 to 5 times more likely to be exposed to violence. Researchers have documented a dose-response effect of childhood exposure to trauma, such that cumulative trauma places children at higher risk for long-term problems. Specifically, findings from the landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (Felitti & Anda, 2010), which we describe Introduction: Recognizing the Impact of TraumaExposure on Young Children

Attachment, suicidal behavior, and self-harm in childhood and adolescence: a study of a cohort of Brazilian schoolchildren

“…From the perspective of child development, attachment presents a specific direction: from the child to their primary caregiver, a responsible person who becomes a secure emotional base for the infant's environmental and relational exploration and, therefore, for the species-specific developmental trajectory [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 ]. In the initial propositions of Attachment Theory, Bowlby described how the effects of affective deprivation and violence predispose children to the emergence of deviations in the formation of attachment with important repercussions in the short-term (physical—failure to thrive—and developmental delays—gross and fine motor, language, social and cognitive skills) and medium-term (antisocial behavior and relational problems) [ 1 , 6 , 7 ]. This theoretical framework has been valued in research on the influence of early adverse events on children and adolescents’ mental health, with emphasis on suicidal and self-harm behavior [ 8 – 13 ].…”