The impact of psychological trauma on neuropsychological functioning in children aged 8-13

• Main Author: Hosford, Donna J.
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Post-traumatic stress disorder in children; Psychic trauma in children; Effect of psychic trauma on children; Neuropsychiatry
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3237

D.Phil. === Profound psychological trauma, which may lead to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can continue to negatively impact the lives of its victims for years after its occurrence. Psychological trauma is seen across cultures in people of all ages, the world over, and South Africa’s high levels of crime and violence, HIV and AIDS, and road accidents, make the topic especially pertinent. The symptom clusters of PTSD, included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition – text revised (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000), namely Re-experiencing, Avoidance and numbing, and Increased Arousal can lead to significant distress and may interfere with all facets of life, including social functioning, career goals, romantic relationships, leisure activities, and mental wellbeing. The effects of trauma in childhood may be different than when it occurs in adulthood, due to developmental processes occurring on physical, emotional, and cognitive levels (e.g. Drell, Siegel, & Gaensbauer, 1993; Perrin, Smith, & Yule, 2000). As such it is clearly important to understand the effects of trauma specific to children. A fair amount of literature is available which discusses the emotional and psychological consequences of trauma in children. Similar studies with regard to PTSD are also available. However, a holistic picture of either psychological trauma, or PTSD in childhood should also include neuropsychological aspects, functions such as attention and concentration, planning, organisation, psychomotor speed, and memory in which dysfunction may interfere with children’s development and futures. Although the field of neuropsychology has traditionally investigated how the brain responds to physical trauma or disease processes, recent decades of technological advancement have made it possible to understand that psychological trauma may actually result in neurobiological abnormalities.