Publications - Trauma and Resiliency

Breaking the Cycle of Child Abuse, by Elizabeth Hartney, Ph.D., verywellmind, Jul 11 2018.

“Child abuse is known to repeat itself from generation to generation. Although not universal, the children of people with addictions are at higher risk of all types of abuse, and of developing addictions. The reasons why people who were sexually abused in childhood go on to have abusive relationships in adulthood, either as an abuser or as a victim, are complex and well documented. But is breaking the cycle of child abuse possible? Or does the experience of child abuse mean that abusive relationships are inevitable? ”

Parents with Severe Childhood Trauma More Likely to Have Kids with Behavior Issues, by Traci Pedersen, Psych Central, Jul 10 2018.

“Parents who faced severe trauma and stress in their own childhood are more likely to see  behavioral health problems in their children, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics...The findings reveal that the children of parents who themselves had four or more adverse childhood experiences were at double the risk of having attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and were four times more likely to have mental health problems. In addition, a mother’s childhood experiences had a stronger adverse effect on a child’s behavioral health than the father’s experiences. ”

What separation from parents does to children: ‘The effect is catastrophic’, by William Wan, The Washington Post, Jun 18 2018.

“"This is what happens inside children when they are forcibly separated from their parents.  Their heart rate goes up. Their body releases a flood of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. Those stress hormones can start killing off dendrites — the little branches in brain cells that transmit mes­sages. In time, the stress can start killing off neurons and — especially in young children — wreaking dramatic and long-term damage, both psychologically and to the physical structure of the brain.  'The effect is catastrophic,” said Charles Nelson, a pediatrics professor at Harvard Medical School. “There’s so much research on this that if people paid attention at all to the science, they would never do this.'" ”

When the Effects of Sexual Trauma Persist, by Make the Connection, Make the Connection, Apr 26 2018.

“Both men and women have faced the effects of military sexual trauma, including sexual assault, harassment, or unwanted sexual attention. Such traumatic experiences can negatively affect Veterans for years.  This April marks Sexual Assault Awareness Month. It’s a time to continue the national conversation about sexual assault. It’s also a time to build awareness about ways to support those who have had traumatic experiences. ”

Traumatic Brain Injuries Are Tied to Dementia, by Nicholas Bakalar, New York Times, Apr 10 2018.

“In the largest study of its kind, researchers have found that traumatic brain injury is associated with an increased risk of dementia. The risk of dementia was highest among people who had suffered multiple T.B.I.s. But even a single mild T.B.I. was tied to an increased risk of dementia...they found that compared with people who had never had a T.B.I., those who had had any were at a 24 percent increased risk for dementia, and those who had had five or more had nearly triple the risk. ”

Childhood `toxic stress’ leads to parenting challenges later on, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Mar 21 2018.

“Parents who endured “toxic stress” during childhood may be more likely to have kids with developmental delays and have a harder time coping with their children’s health issues, new research suggests. Adverse childhood experiences, commonly called ACEs, can include witnessing parents fight or go through a divorce, having a parent with a mental illness or substance abuse problem, or suffering from sexual, physical or emotional abuse...One reason may be that mothers who experience more adversity in childhood have more health risks during pregnancy and, in turn, have babies with a greater risk of developmental problems, Madigan and colleagues report in one of three papers on the topic published this week in Pediatrics. ”

Childhood heart defects tied to early dementia, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Feb 12 2018.

“People who survive childhood heart defects may have an increased risk of developing dementia before age 65, a Danish study suggests...Compared to people born with normal hearts, adult survivors of childhood heart defects were more than twice as likely to develop so-called early-onset dementia by age 65, the current study found. These survivors were also 30 percent more likely to develop dementia after 65. The dementia risk increased with the severity of heart defects. Mild to moderate defects were associated with 50 percent greater likelihood of dementia, while the odds were doubled with severe defects. ”

Common drug for PTSD doesn’t stem nightmares, sleep problems in veterans, by Gene Emery, Reuters, Feb 7 2018.

“The blood pressure drug prazosin, widely prescribed to relieve symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), has failed to show it can reduce distressing dreams or improve sleep quality in a trial of 304 military veterans at 13 Veterans Affairs medical centers. After 10 weeks of therapy with the generic drug, which costs about a nickel per pill, recipients had no significant reduction in recurrent nightmares or easier sleep compared to veterans receiving placebo...The results should discourage doctors from giving prazosin as a one-size-fits-all therapy and encourage them to identify veterans who will find it effective... ”

More evidence traumatic brain injuries raise later dementia risk, by Cheryl Platzman Weinstock, Reuters, Jan 31 2018.

“During the first year after a traumatic brain injury (TBI), the risk of developing dementia rises four- to six-fold, according to a large Swedish study that followed millions of people age 50 or older for decades. People who experienced moderate, severe and repeated TBIs were at the greatest risk, and overall, the odds of a dementia diagnosis decreased over time. Those odds were still significantly higher, however, for people with a history of TBI even 30 years after the injury when compared to people who had never experienced TBI, the study team reports in PLoS ONE. ”

Teen sexual identity, childhood trauma linked to suicidal behaviors, by Shereen Lehman, Reuters, Dec 18 2017.

“Both LGBQ sexual identity and traumatic experiences in childhood are linked to a heightened risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, U.S. researchers say. Teens who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or are questioning their sexual identity are also more likely than their heterosexual peers to have had adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in childhood, the study team reports in Journal of Adolescent Health...'Furthermore, cumulative exposure to ACEs greatly increased suicide risk behaviors among sexual minority adolescents. For example, compared with heterosexual students with no exposure to ACEs, LGB/not sure students with two or more ACEs had approximately 13 times higher odds of attempting suicide in the past year,' Clements-Nolle said. ”

Better Sleep Can Build Emotional Resilience, by Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, Oct 23 2017.

“The authors of a new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience say this is one of the first to show that sound sleep might protect against fear and distress, while a person’s tendency to sleep fitfully can make them more likely to be traumatized later on...stress hormones are also low during REM sleep, allowing the brain to activate memories yet strip away their “emotional tone.” Because of that, people who get plenty of REM sleep might be less reactive to emotional stimuli. If the study is replicated, there could be real-world implications for stopping trauma—before it starts. 'You could imagine that the army could start screening procedures where people with more REM sleep could be better candidates for combat units,' said Itamar Lerner, the study’s lead investigator, who is also with the Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience at Rutgers. ”

Maximizing children's resilience, by Kirsten Weir , American Psychological Association , Sep 2017.

“They call them "the formative years" for a reason. A wealth of research has shown that stress and hardship in childhood—such as that caused by abuse, neglect, exposure to violence and mental illness in caregivers—can alter the brain architecture of a developing child. Those physiological changes, in turn, raise the risk of cognitive and developmental delays, physical health problems such as diabetes and heart disease, and behavioral and mental health problems such as substance abuse and depression. Yet some people flourish despite those long odds, and psychologists are homing in on the factors that boost resilience...Researchers agree that, of all the factors that boost resilience, good parenting is often the most significant. 'The thing that makes the biggest difference, over and above one's genetic blueprint, is the relationship a child has with a primary caregiver,' says Philip Fisher, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Oregon who studies early childhood interventions to improve the functioning of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. 'The presence of a supportive, consistent and protective primary caregiver—especially when the underlying stress systems are activated—is the factor that makes the biggest difference in healthy development.' ”

Victims of Sexual Assault Face More Risk of Mental Disorders, by Rick Nauert, PhD, Psych Central, Aug 10 2017.

“University of Illinois researchers report the trauma associated with a sexual assault places victims at increased risk of a wide range of mental health conditions. Investigators analyzed nearly 200 studies involving more than 230,00 adult participants and discovered the elevated risk was apparent regardless of how a researcher may have defined the sexual assault. Researchers found a history of sexual assault is associated with significantly increased risk of anxiety, depression, suicidality, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and bipolar disorder. ”

A suicide attempt in an Army unit can lead to more, study finds, by Jacqueline Howard, CNN, Jul 26 2017.

“Within Army units, the risk of suicide attempts among soldiers increases as the number of attempts made within the past year in their unit rises, according to the study, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry on Wednesday. In other words, the greater the number of previous suicide attempts in a unit, the greater the individual risk of a suicide attempt for a soldier in that unit, said Dr. Robert Ursano, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience and director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Department of Defense's Uniformed Services University...The study involved data on 9,512 enlisted soldiers who attempted suicide between 2004 and 2009, documented in administrative and medical records...After analyzing the data, the researchers found that soldiers were more likely to attempt suicide if assigned to a unit with one or more previous suicide attempts in the past year, and that risk increased as the number of previous suicide attempts went up.   ”

Meditation-based Approaches in the Treatment of PTSD, by Alexander M. Talkovsky and Ariel J. Lang, National Center for PTSD, Jun 15 2017.

“As meditation-based treatments have gained popularity, many practitioners and researchers are incorporating them in the treatment of PTSD (Libby, Pilver, & Desai, 2012). Multiple types of meditation, which differ in philosophy and practice, have been applied clinically. This line of research is in its relative infancy, but initial evidence suggests that meditation-based approaches merit continued investigation to evaluate their efficacy, mechanisms, and implementation within Department of VeteransAffairs (VA) settings. ”