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Childhood trauma can trigger mental health issues

Herald-Journal - 2/19/2017

Feb. 19--Traumatic early childhood experiences typically worsen the mental health of children, experts say.

Jennifer Parker, director of the USC Upstate Center for Child Advocacy Studies, said the first eight years of life shape the brain and neural responses children have as they get older.

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 Mr. Smith looks forward to seeing them every day, has something nice to say to them, they're going to build some skills around that, some self-confidence," Parker said. "That can help a lot of children overcome some negative experience."

About 60 percent of the U.S. population has experienced some type of negative childhood experience, Parker said.

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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