Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease
  4. Content listing

Refine listing

Refine listing

Access:
Content type:
Publication date:
Apply   From and To filters
Subject: Show more
Journals Show more
Publishers: Show more
Societies Show more
Series: Show more
Collections: Show more

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

45 results in The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease

Page 1 of 3

  • Part 2 - Synopsis

  • from Section 1 - Early life trauma: impact on health and disease
  • Edited by Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario, Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands, Clare Pain, University of Toronto
  • Book:
    The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease
    Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    05 August 2010, pp 88-92

  • Summary

    References to childhood trauma from Ambroise Tardieu's early work focused on physical abuse in the mid 1800s. This chapter outlines the history of child abuse and neglect in the medical and mental health fields. The literature, which refocused attention on the importance of childhood trauma and set the trajectory for a greater appreciation and acceptance of childhood adversity in health and mental health problems, was dominated by accounts of physical abuse. The focus on early sexual abuse gave way to a greater and broader investment in the role of various forms of childhood trauma, abuse and neglect in adverse effects on psychological and physical development, as well as on health and mental health functioning. The ability to accept such a proposition rests in part on accepting that one of the single most pathogenic factors in the causation of mental illness, and some physical health problems, is humans themselves.

  • Chapter 6 - Towards a developmental trauma disorder diagnosis for childhood interpersonal trauma

  • from Section 1 - Early life trauma: impact on health and disease
  • Edited by Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario, Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands, Clare Pain, University of Toronto
  • Book:
    The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease
    Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    05 August 2010, pp 57-68

  • Summary

    This chapter delineates the developmental trauma disorder (DTD) diagnosis proposed by the National Child Traumatic Stress DSM-V Taskforce. The numerous clinical expressions of the damage resulting from childhood interpersonal trauma are currently relegated to a whole variety of seemingly unrelated comorbidities, such as conduct disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and separation anxiety. The chapter discusses the effects of childhood interpersonal trauma on brain activity, self-awareness and social functioning. Several large-sample studies have examined the causal relationship between childhood interpersonal trauma and DTD symptoms. These studies have documented the correlations of age of first trauma exposure, trauma severity and duration of exposure with DTD symptoms. Contemporary neuroscience research suggests that effective treatment needs to involve learning to modulate arousal, learning to tolerate feelings and sensations by increasing the capacity for interoception and learning that, after confrontation with physical helplessness, it is essential to engage in taking effective action.

  • Chapter 1 - The history of early life trauma and abuse from the 1850s to the current time: how the past influences the present

  • from Section 1 - Early life trauma: impact on health and disease
  • Edited by Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario, Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands, Clare Pain, University of Toronto
  • Book:
    The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease
    Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    05 August 2010, pp 3-12

  • Summary

    References to childhood trauma from Ambroise Tardieu's early work focused on physical abuse in the mid 1800s. This chapter outlines the history of child abuse and neglect in the medical and mental health fields. The literature, which refocused attention on the importance of childhood trauma and set the trajectory for a greater appreciation and acceptance of childhood adversity in health and mental health problems, was dominated by accounts of physical abuse. The focus on early sexual abuse gave way to a greater and broader investment in the role of various forms of childhood trauma, abuse and neglect in adverse effects on psychological and physical development, as well as on health and mental health functioning. The ability to accept such a proposition rests in part on accepting that one of the single most pathogenic factors in the causation of mental illness, and some physical health problems, is humans themselves.

  • Epilogue

  • Edited by Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario, Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands, Clare Pain, University of Toronto
  • Book:
    The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease
    Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    05 August 2010, pp 300-302

  • Summary

    Dissociation may involve the protective activation of altered states of consciousness related to acute changes in a variety of brain systems in response to immediate danger. Dissociation can produce a variety of somatoform conditions such as pseudoneurological conversion symptoms, pain disorders and somatization disorder. Individuals with repeated early life trauma such as dissociative identity disorder (DID) or borderline personality disorder (BPD) may show all of these symptoms, leading to a particularly complex and variable clinical picture. Critical anatomical structures for the post-encounter defensive behavior described include the amygdala, the ventral periaqueductal gray and the hypothalamus. Failure of corticolimbic inhibition or excessive corticolimbic inhibition may be one underlying mechanism that leads to altered temporal lobe and limbic system functioning. Typically, dissociative symptoms in neurological disorders have been reported to result from lesions in the limbic system, specifically the temporal lobe or the temporoparietal junction.

  • Chapter 10 - Lateral asymmetries in infants’ regulatory and communicative gestures

  • from Section 2 - Biological approaches to early life trauma
  • Edited by Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario, Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands, Clare Pain, University of Toronto
  • Book:
    The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease
    Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    05 August 2010, pp 103-111

  • Summary

    This chapter describes the prevalence of early childhood trauma in the general population of the USA using data from the National Comorbidity Study-Replication (NCS-R). It discusses some of the methodological issues around assessing the prevalence of childhood trauma, focusing on estimates of child maltreatment as a specific example. The chapter explains the risk factors for childhood trauma. The prevalence of exposure to any traumatic event, to any other injury or shocking experience and for most specific event types did not significantly differ by race. Factors associated with greater risk of childhood trauma occur at the individual, family, neighborhood, local, regional and national level; the bulk of research focuses on individual and family factors. Individual factors associated with risk of childhood trauma include demographic descriptors such as sex, age and race/ethnicity, as well as health and behavioral characteristics, including mental health, substance use, sexuality and prior traumatization.

  • Part 5 - Synopsis

  • from Section 3 - Clinical perspectives: assessment and treatment of trauma spectrum disorders
  • Edited by Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario, Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands, Clare Pain, University of Toronto
  • Book:
    The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease
    Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    05 August 2010, pp 242-246

  • Summary

    Child neglect is the most chronic and prevalent form of child maltreatment. This chapter discusses the definitions, preclinical studies of maternal deprivation, the field of developmental traumatology, studies of neglected children and future directions. Child neglect may be more detrimental to the child's developing biological stress systems and brain than adversity experienced in adulthood, secondary to interactions between this lack of experience of expected environmental stimulation and brain maturation. Multiple neurotransmitter systems and neuroendocrine axes are activated during stress. The study of the effects of child neglect and childhood brain development is only in its infancy. Longitudinal investigations are a promising strategy to further understanding of the neurobiology of neglect and to help to identify the best predictors for the permanence and the therapeutic reversibility of the adverse effects associated with child neglect.

  • Part 6 - Synopsis

  • from Section 3 - Clinical perspectives: assessment and treatment of trauma spectrum disorders
  • Edited by Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario, Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands, Clare Pain, University of Toronto
  • Book:
    The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease
    Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    05 August 2010, pp 295-299

  • Summary

    Studies show that early childhood abuse has causative long-term effects on brain areas involved in memory and emotion, including the hippocampus, amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex. Brain circuits mediating the stress response including norepinephrine neurons, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis also play a role. This chapter presents post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and a working model for a neural circuitry. It discusses relevant findings from the neuroimaging and stress hormone literature concerning patients who have experienced childhood abuse. The chapter addresses the issue of causation in reference to epidemiological studies and neuropsychiatric investigations. There is considerable interest in alterations in memory function of patients with childhood abuse-related PTSD. The brain areas involved include the hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala, that are central to the neural circuitry of traumatic stress. Most functional neuroimaging studies to date have focused on specific cognitive tasks to examine brain functioning in various psychiatric disorders.

  • Chapter 20 - Memory and trauma: examining disruptions in implicit, explicit and autobiographical memory

  • from Section 3 - Clinical perspectives: assessment and treatment of trauma spectrum disorders
  • Edited by Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario, Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands, Clare Pain, University of Toronto
  • Book:
    The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease
    Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    05 August 2010, pp 217-224

  • Summary

    This chapter reviews data on disruptions in explicit and implicit memory associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociation in laboratory research. It discusses the several biological and cognitive mechanisms proposed to account for autobiographical memory impairment. PTSD is often associated with increased startle responsiveness during threatening contexts, as well as increases in physiological responsiveness to trauma-related stimuli. Among the mechanisms proposed to account for autobiographical memory deficits for traumatic experiences, three general categories emerge: compromises to brain structures that result in changes in function, cognitive mechanisms, and consequences of post-traumatic symptoms. Autobiographical memory impairment could occur via active or involuntary cognitive processes. Active inhibitory processes contribute to difficulty retrieving trauma-related memories because of repeated inhibition of event-related cues. Associations between autobiographical memory impairments for trauma and PTSD/dissociation symptoms are difficult to reconcile with laboratory findings.

  • Chapter 13 - Early life stress as a risk factor for disease in adulthood

  • from Section 2 - Biological approaches to early life trauma
  • Edited by Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario, Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands, Clare Pain, University of Toronto
  • Book:
    The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease
    Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    05 August 2010, pp 133-141

  • Summary

    This chapter concentrates on three areas of model development. First, it presents data showing how differential impacts to specific neural regulatory systems are associated with variations by the type of early life stress (ELS) experienced. Second, the chapter describes how studies of the severity of ELS are providing a new basis for understanding trajectories towards risk versus resilience among foster children and other populations who experience ELS. Third, it also describes a growing body of evidence documenting the plasticity of these neural systems in response to psychosocial, family-based therapeutic interventions. The chapter focuses on the neurobiological systems involved in the reaction and the regulation of physiological responses to stressors. Much work remains to be done across the spectrum of risk and resilience following ELS in order to improve the identification of individuals in need of services and to specify the techniques most likely to improve outcomes.

  • Part 3 - Synopsis

  • from Section 2 - Biological approaches to early life trauma
  • Edited by Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario, Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands, Clare Pain, University of Toronto
  • Book:
    The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease
    Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    05 August 2010, pp 142-147

  • Summary

    This chapter focuses on the immediate outcomes of unresponsive early care during infancy, including the development of non-optimal physiological stress reactions and disorganized attachment behavior. It reviews the recent research pointing to interaction between caregiving environment and gene expression in the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems, as these effects relate to maladaptation in childhood and psychiatric morbidity in adulthood. Research using animal and human models has identified associations between characteristics of the early caregiving environment and infant physiological responsiveness to stressors. Disorganized attachment patterns in infancy have been associated with childhood onset of aggressive behavior problems and with psychopathology in young adulthood. Inadequate early care is an important risk factor in human development for multiple later psychopathologies. The chapter proposes that the risk for both physiological and behavioral dysregulation as a result of poor early care in infancy constitutes a hidden trauma.

  • Chapter 22 - Thepsychosocial consequences of organized violence on children

  • from Section 3 - Clinical perspectives: assessment and treatment of trauma spectrum disorders
  • Edited by Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario, Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands, Clare Pain, University of Toronto
  • Book:
    The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease
    Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    05 August 2010, pp 234-241

  • Summary

    This chapter presents new data suggesting that there are sensitive periods when particular brain regions may be most susceptible to the effects of abuse. New findings looking at the neurobiological correlates of exposure to other forms of adversity is considered including parental verbal abuse (PVA), peer verbal bullying (VB) and witnessing domestic violence (WDV). The effect of childhood trauma on the development of the left versus right hemisphere was investigated using electroencephalograph (EEG) coherence, which provides information regarding the nature of the brain's wiring and circuitry. Childhood maltreatment research has focused primarily on the effects of physical abuse (PA), sexual abuse (SA) or WDV. By comparison, PVA has received little attention as a specific form of abuse. Childhood adversity accounts for 50-75% of the population attributable risk for alcoholism, depression, suicidal behavior and drug abuse.

  • Chapter 7 - Complex adult sequelae of early life exposure to psychological trauma

  • from Section 1 - Early life trauma: impact on health and disease
  • Edited by Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario, Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands, Clare Pain, University of Toronto
  • Book:
    The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease
    Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    05 August 2010, pp 69-76

  • Summary

    This chapter focuses on the sequelae in adulthood of traumatic victimization experienced in early childhood (that is, infancy, toddlerhood, and early school years). Adult survivors of early childhood traumatic victimization are at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and for heightened anxiety, depression and suicidality, addiction, personality disorders, antisocial or violent behavior, serious mental illness and sexual disorders. Several methodological limitations suggest caution in interpreting the findings from studies on the effects of childhood traumatic victimization on adult functioning and health. The impact of psychological trauma and the etiology and course of post-traumatic disorders differ for males and females in several respects, such that gender may moderate the adverse effects of early life psychological trauma. Minority ethno-racial background is consistently associated with increased risk of childhood psychological trauma, including loss, domestic violence and sexual abuse.

  • Chapter 24 - Pragmatic approaches to stage-oriented treatment for early life trauma-related complex post-traumatic stress and dissociative disorders

  • from Section 3 - Clinical perspectives: assessment and treatment of trauma spectrum disorders
  • Edited by Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario, Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands, Clare Pain, University of Toronto
  • Book:
    The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease
    Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    05 August 2010, pp 257-267

  • Summary

    This chapter discusses the aspects of treatment of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). The literature on the diagnosis and treatment of dissociative disorders (DD), particularly dissociative identity disorder (DID), has developed mostly in parallel with that on CPTSD. CPTSD is a multidimensional construct that crosses a number of fourth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) diagnoses. General principles of treatment for CPTSD may be similar among different clinical groups, and there are many similar difficulties faced by survivors of different types of cumulative trauma. Clinicians should understand the risk-management aspects of working with this population, including informed consent. In addition, patients may need a variety of psychotherapeutic interventions for stabilizing PTSD and dissociative symptoms. These may include psychoeducation, cognitive therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, psychodynamic interventions and techniques from family systems theory such as reframing symptoms as adaptations, among others.

  • Chapter 23 - Therole of mentalizing in treating attachment trauma

  • from Section 3 - Clinical perspectives: assessment and treatment of trauma spectrum disorders
  • Edited by Ruth A. Lanius, University of Western Ontario, Eric Vermetten, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands, Clare Pain, University of Toronto
  • Book:
    The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease
    Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    05 August 2010, pp 247-256

  • Summary

    This chapter concentrates on three areas of model development. First, it presents data showing how differential impacts to specific neural regulatory systems are associated with variations by the type of early life stress (ELS) experienced. Second, the chapter describes how studies of the severity of ELS are providing a new basis for understanding trajectories towards risk versus resilience among foster children and other populations who experience ELS. Third, it also describes a growing body of evidence documenting the plasticity of these neural systems in response to psychosocial, family-based therapeutic interventions. The chapter focuses on the neurobiological systems involved in the reaction and the regulation of physiological responses to stressors. Much work remains to be done across the spectrum of risk and resilience following ELS in order to improve the identification of individuals in need of services and to specify the techniques most likely to improve outcomes.

Page 1 of 3