Impact of Trauma

• Is an overwhelming experience (limbic response isn’t buffered by relationship or prefrontal cortexResults in intense feelings of fear and lack of control

• Leaves people feeling helpless

• Changes the way a person understands himself/herself, others and the world.

An on-going longitudinal study called the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study has how that childhood abuse and neglect can cause physical changes to the brain and its development, putting the maltreated individual at greater risk for depression, addiction and suicide in adulthood.

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study is one of the largest investigations ever conducted to assess associations between childhood maltreatment and later-life health and well-being. The study is a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente's Health Appraisal Clinic in San Diego. The Co-principal Investigators of The Study are Robert F. Anda, MD, MS, with the CDC; and Vincent J. Felitti, MD, with Kaiser Permanente.

The initial phase of the ACE Study was conducted at Kaiser Permanente from 1995 to 1997 where more than 17,000 participants completed a standardized physical examination and chose to provide detailed information about their childhood experience of abuse, neglect, and family dysfunction. To date, more than 50 scientific articles have been published and more than 100 conference and workshop presentations have been made.

During the time period of the 1980s and early 1990s, information about risk factors for disease had been widely researched and merged into public education and prevention programs. However, it was also clear that risk factors, such as smoking, alcohol abuse, and sexual behaviors for many common diseases were not randomly distributed in the population. In fact, it was known that risk factors for many chronic diseases tended to cluster, that is, persons who had one risk factor tended to have one or more other risk factors too. Because of this knowledge, the ACE Study was designed to assess what we considered to be “scientific gaps” about the origins of risk factors.

The findings surprised them. Not only was the prevalence of ACEs surprising, but the prevalence of multiple ACEs. They found that over 60 % of the participants reported at least one ACE and one in five reported four or more. They were also surprised that the ACE’s were not just linked to emotional and psychological problems, but also correlated with chronic health issues like cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and pulmonary disease. Biophysical pathway that is altered because of adverse events.

When trauma occurs in the context of deprivation or maltreatment, including persistent and severe parental neglect or physical or psychological abuse, the infant or young child may be diagnosed with a deprivation/maltreatment disorder with the following patterns: