Childhood trauma can trigger mental health issues
Herald-JournalFeb 19, 2017
Intervention by teachers and counselors can help prevent bad behavior that stems from trauma from escalating into something worse, she said.
"What better opportunity than through the schools to build a relationship with a child? If they know
About 60 percent of the
She said children who undergo trauma often have overstimulated "fight or flight" portions of their brain, which can lead to confrontational behavior or withdrawal from social situations.
The age at which a child experiences trauma, and even their gender, can impact future behaviors, Parker said.
Boys will typically be hyperactive and impulsive, angry and lacking self-control, Parker said. She said girls will often act more anxious and tend toward harmful and self-destructive behaviors.
"You may see more, with girls who have experienced sexual abuse and trauma early, you may see more self-harm like cutting, depression or anxiety. It might progress later to promiscuity and substance abuse, but you may first see more internalizing behavior in girls," she said. "In boys, you might find more acting out, externalizing anger, explosive anger. You see some crossover, too -- it's not just boys do this and girls do this."
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