Effect of Childhood Experience and Trauma on Personality
Name
Institution
Abstract
This essay discusses the effects of childhood experience and trauma on personality development. It begins by looking at childhood development, recognizing that children exposed to child abuse risk experiencing adverse development outcomes such as learning complications and peer-related concerns. The essay also discusses the relationship between personality, trauma, and health mechanisms. Additionally, the article recognizes and elaborates on the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the recommendations for a possible response to the Adverse Childhood Experiences, including the cohesion of all the stakeholders and integrating health services to children families affected, just to mention but a few.
Childhood Experience and Personality Development
Fletcher & Schurer (2017 p.1) state that “Human capital is one of the most important determinants of an individual’s long-term economic productivity and health.” This capital consists of skills, education, intelligence, judgment, work experience, personality, emotional intelligence, just to mention but a few. All these factors that determine human capital plays a vital role in a child’s experience and personality development because they can build or destroy a child’s future depend on how they are instilled in them (Engler, 2014). For instance, these factors form personal traits that interact with the existing environment to nurture behavior (Engler, 2014). This essay addresses the concepts of childhood experience and trauma on personality development and their effects.
Childhood Development
The growth and development of children from infantry, adolescence, and adulthood is a critical process that must be prioritized by parents, guardians, and all the stakeholders, including educational institutions. For instance, researchers have concluded that children who are experiencing child abuse stand a higher risk of having several negative development results, such as learning complications, peer-related issues, both implicit and explicit symptoms (Fletcher & Schurer, 2017). Unfortunately, children who develop these complications end up growing with them. As a result, they tend to attract physical health complications, risky behaviors, mood disorders, and criminal acts (Fletcher & Schurer, 2017). Additionally, such children with history for child abuse, complicated personalities, and maltreatment have shown a consistently positive relationship with impaired prosocial, and ethical development developments, which have gone a long way in informing the feelings, behaviors, and thoughts as they grow into adulthood (Fletcher & Schurer, 2017). A more reason to give priority for better growth and development to children.
Personality, Trauma, and Health Mechanisms
Both personality, trauma, and health are critical constituents experienced by children in the entire growth and development cycle. As stated by the betrayal-trauma theory, children suffer an injury at the utmost level when the caregivers are responsible for executing the traumatic eventualities, which may include disloyalty (Hampson & Hillier, 2016). Consequently, extensive trauma levels caused by a family member tend to ignite disastrous impacts on both real and psychological sequels among children, affecting them even in their old age (Hampson & Hillier, 2016). Such children usually develop health complications during adult age.
Research shows to find out the relationship between trauma and personality. Accordingly, it is encouraging that instrumental and reactive processes play a crucial role in linking the two (Scheffers & Lemieux, 2019). For instance, practical actions are classified as the possibility of either or both of the feelings, reasoning, and attitudes to stimulate the probability of finding themselves in particular environments or circumstances (Hampson & Hillier, 2016). By using necessary procedures, one’s traits and interlinked attitudes may, to a greater extent, induce trauma or accommodate the victims to an environment that is highly prone to injury (Hampson & Hillier, 2016). A good example can be that of teacher grading on disturbing behavior concerning agreeableness, and emotional solidity, which depending on their levels, may result in either violence or gentleness to the youth (Hampson & Hillier, 2016). Importantly, it is necessary to control these levels if a desirable outcome is paramount.
On the contrary, reactive processes refer to the propensity to discern situations in a different unique way by individuals. In this case, individuals with certain specific traits may retaliate strongly or weakly to the exposure of trauma, which dramatically impacts the development of personality among the victims (Hampson & Hillier, 2016). Additional study on the assessment of backdated data of injury in adolescents and considerations of adult charisma have shown that individuals recording a background of trauma also subsequently register high volumes of neuroticism, with absolute truthfulness to the same experience (Hampson & Hillier, 2016). Additionally, youngsters’ molestation has shown tremendous effects on child maturity and individuality (Hampson & Hillier, 2016). For instance, it is considerably associating with poor emotion management, which is equal to neuroticism (Scheffers & Lemieux, 2019). As a consequence, trauma has a substantial effect on an individual’s personality.
Significantly, trauma has an enormous influence on health and health-related activities. Firstly, it instantly affects the stress moderation response system (Hampson & Hillier, 2016). This response structure’s dysregulation is directly connecting to various health complications, like the resistant response, and infection (Hampson & Hillier, 2016). Secondly, when unregulated, trauma may lead to reconstruction in the configuration of the victim’s brain, which also leads to eternal bodily and behavioral health complications (Hampson & Hillier, 2016). The third effect of trauma is the exposure to dangerous health behaviors that are usually advisable to the victims in an attempt to cope with or take the edge off injury.
These hazardous health activities may include consuming unhealthy meals, drug and substance abuse, and overeating. If untreated, traumatic stress plays a considerable role in stimulating anxiety, persistent disorders such as hypertension, cancer, and diabetes, social isolation, among others (Hampson & Hillier, 2016). Unfortunately, trauma among youngsters has shown worrying trends in the increase of health-related complications to the victims as they grow into adulthood (Scheffers & Lemieux, 2019). The worst outcome is the mental health complications, insufficient education, and impoverishment among the victims.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
The growth and development journey of children throughout adulthood can be challenging at times. It may be difficult due to the adverse childhood experiences that children encounter and compelled to adapt to them (Scheffers & Lemieux, 2019). Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) may refer to the traumatic situations before adulthood, conventionally before 18years old (Hays-Grudo & Morris, 2020). These situations are most likely to include child abuse and neglect, substance use, incarceration, mental illness, divorce, and domestic violence (Hays-Grudo & Morris, 2020). Researchers have shown an existing relationship between the adverse outcomes in adulthood, such as mental illness, drug and substance abuse, and unsafe attitudes, with adverse childhood experiences by the victim.
These adverse childhood experiences usually expose children to unconducive environments. Firstly, there is an uncover to threat. The study has shown that the exposure to intimidating circumstances in infantry destructs the emotional development to modify the recognition of possible threats in a given situation, and expand emotional retaliation to those threats (Hays-Grudo & Morris, 2020). For example, children exposed to violence initiate data processing partialities that enhance the rapid recognition of anger (Hays-Grudo & Morris, 2020). Such children quickly encounter increased emotional feedback to undesirable signals that could lead to intimidation (Scheffers & Lemieux, 2019). The same children subjected to violence have issues in discerning between threat and safety signs (Scheffers & Lemieux, 2019).
Consequently, these children cultivate fear retaliation of an equal enormity to threat and safety signals. This reaction is different to that of developing children, because these developing children show an intimidating response only to messages that are joining with an unresponsive impulse, but not welfare cues (Fletcher & Schurer, 2017). Significantly, children who have experienced brutality find it complicated to effectively control their reactions (Scheffers & Lemieux, 2019). This experience further suggests that being brought up in a surrounding characterized by the threats heighten the intensity of environmental signals that bear relevancy in identifying any other possible risks.
Besides, there exists an effect of deprivation. In this case, children subjected to deprived new environments, such as impoverishment, and neglect, find it rough in eliciting adjustments in emotional refining (Fletcher & Schurer, 2017). Nonetheless, they show persistent shortfalls in cognitive operations’ numerous aspects (Fletcher & Schurer 2017). This experience indicates that exposure to social and cognitive penury seems to impact children’s development through processes that are least partially different than environments specified by threat (Fletcher & Schurer, 2017). To be specific, an initial climate without social impulse and cognitive advancement limits learning chances that rely on affluent sensory and social processes at an early life.
Additionally, an environment with deprivation cases has considerable impacts on the neurodevelopmental procedures that are determined by learning and expertise (Scheffers & Lemieux, 2019). An absence of situational processes in a sensory operation evokes increased and substantial synaptic activities in the cortex area, which is responsible for processing the sensory input.
Besides, a maltreating environment is a crucial contributor to personality development for children. For instance, it considerably reduces the victim’s capacity to advance developmental tasks and challenges (Fletcher & Schurer, 2017). By illustration, existing research has shown that maltreated children are more likely to exhibit shortages in the productive determination of the life process’s salient tasks and to generate following vulnerabilities for psychopathologic circumstances (Fletcher & Schurer, 2017). However, a fraction of the maltreated children also prove resilience, or competent results, irrespective of the harsh adversity in their life experiences.
Occasionally, a maltreating environment offers a significant threat to the optimal development of reactive moderation structures that may involve ego control (Scheffers & Lemieux, 2019). In families experiencing maltreatment, parents or guardians can rarely be available to their children, especially when they are pissed off (Fletcher & Schurer, 2017). As a result, children are disadvantaged as they cannot obtain support, enabling them to learn positive strategies to moderate their attitudes and behaviors.
Accordingly, maltreated children may experience an overwhelming urge that destructs their capacity to regulate their ego control in their charge as a function of demand features of a situational context (Scheffers & Lemieux, 2019). For maltreated children, especially those who experience troubled and complicated relationships with caregivers, children’s personality attributes seem to be more potent for adaptive processes compared to relationship components (Scheffers & Lemieux, 2019). These circumstances have made maltreated children to have low levels of school adjustments, unlike the non-maltreated children.
Possible Responses to Adverse Childhood Experiences
For effective responses to adverse childhood experiences, it is vital to form a cohesion among all the stakeholders. Firstly, the general health practitioners, psychologists, school counselors, early childhood educators, and parents have to receive support, ensuring they work together as an integrated structure (Scheffers & Lemieux, 2019). Some of the best ways to provide the much-needed support are through the provision and user adoption of a family-centered approach and maximum engagement of parents throughout the entire process of child development (Scheffers & Lemieux, 2019). This kind of approach ensures that parents are willing and prepared to attract help. The use of parent engagement tools can best implement it.
Secondly, frontline health practitioners need support too. For instance, they require to be adept in how to respond technically effectively and have adequate knowledge on where to direct children and their respective families (Hays-Grudo & Morris, 2020). For this approach to be productive, the health clinicians must map the local services and bear the practical knowledge of waiting times, costs, and the necessary criteria for providing the prerequisite services to children and parents (Hampson & Hillier, 2016). Accordingly, it is fundamental to partner significantly with social services because both social and human contributions specify most of the problems involved, such as housing and financial constraints.
The third and fundamental aspect to factor into consideration is ensuring a unified service center. This method ensures they can that children and families affected by adverse childhood experiences can access essential service care from a single physical site (Hays-Grudo & Morris, 2020). Such families are at the peril of disengaging from the prerequisite services for several reasons. One of the reasons is the empirical blocks, such as lack of transport or high travel costs (Hays-Grudo & Morris, 2020). These barriers require the integration of service centers (Hays-Grudo & Morris, 2020). Accordingly, essential care involves mental health, physical health, and social health. A perfect example of the integrated health center for the children and families affected by the adverse childhood experiences is the Sydney Local Health District (Hays-Grudo & Morris, 2020). This facility provides long-term health services to children and families that are needy and disengaged from other primary functions.
Fundamentally, it is sagacious for the healthcare givers and practitioners to ensure resilience to children and their respective families (Hays-Grudo & Morris, 2020). This procedure may incorporate the creation of medical homes for children, screening for adverse childhood experiences, parental help, smooth integration of behavioral and medical care, and the guidance about personal responsibility and trauma to children and the affected groups.
Conclusion
Human capital has proved an essential determinant of the health of an individual. This human capital has protected by ensuring active personality development throughout the growth stages of a human being right from infantry to adulthood. Failure results in adverse childhood experiences, which have undesirable outcomes on childhood trauma on personality development. This essay looked at the effects of childhood experience and trauma on personality development. Importantly, the piece discussed the relation between personality, trauma, and health mechanisms and the suggestions for a possible response to adverse childhood experiences, which included the integration of health services to the children and families cut off from essential services.
References
Engler, B. (2014). Personality Theories/Barbara Engler.
Fletcher, J. M., & Schurer, S. (2017). Origins of adulthood personality: The role of adverse childhood experiences. The BE Journal of economic analysis & policy, 17(2).
https://www.degruyter.com/view/journals/bejeap/17/2/article-20150212.xml
Hampson, S. E., Edmonds, G. W., Goldberg, L. R., Barckley, M., Klest, B., Dubanoski, J. P., & Hillier, T. A. (2016). Lifetime trauma, personality traits, and health: A pathway to midlife health status. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 8(4), 447.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4925290/
Hays-Grudo, J., & Morris, A. S. (2020). Adverse and protective childhood experiences: A developmental perspective. American Psychological Association.
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-14999-000
Scheffers, F., Van Vugt, E., Lanctôt, N., & Lemieux, A. (2019). Experiences of (young) women after out of home placement: An examination of personality disorder symptoms through the lens of child maltreatment. Child abuse & neglect, 92, 116-125.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Femke_Scheffers3/publication/333537653_Experiences_of_young_women_after_out_of_home_placement_An_examination_of_personality_disorder_symptoms_through_the_lens_of_child_maltreatment/links/5e78b7264585157b9a547cd9/Experiences-of-young-women-after-out-of-home-placement-An-examination-of-personality-disorder-symptoms-through-the-lens-of-child-maltreatment.pdf