UNDERSTANDING TRAUMA AND ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES

Trauma may impact a child or family, and its effects may become apparent to the many professionals who are mandated reporters of child abuse and maltreatment. A reporter’s own past experiences with trauma may also impact their decision-making.

It is important to remember that trauma alone may not rise to the level of child abuse or maltreatment and that it is the impact on the child that should be assessed by the mandated reporter. Many effects of trauma and adverse childhood experiences can be addressed by supporting children and families and increasing protective factors against these effects (NYS OCFS, 2022).

Trauma

Trauma is an intense event that threatens a person’s life or safety in a way that is too much for the mind to handle and leaves the person powerless. Trauma can bring about physical reactions such as rapid heart rate, tense muscles, or shallow breathing. Common traumatic events could be going through or seeing:

  • Family violence
  • Sexual abuse
  • Emotional abuse
  • Violence in the community

For many parents, having a child removed from the home and dealing with the child welfare system are traumatic events. In that way, trauma impacts the work of a mandated reporter in addressing possible child maltreatment or abuse.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are negative experiences that occur during childhood. Research has shown that ACEs can have lasting impacts on physical, emotional, and mental health throughout a person’s life. Research shows that ACEs are very common in all socioeconomic groups; 61%–67% of the U.S. population has experienced at least one ACE.

Children who have experienced numerous adverse experiences have higher rates of negative health outcomes, including depression, obesity, substance use, anxiety, heart disease, and early death. Other factors can intensify the effects of ACEs, including poverty, racism, generational trauma, and frequent unintended or indirect discrimination. Child maltreatment and abuse are adverse childhood experiences (NYS OCFS, n.d.-b).

Toxic stress occurs when a person experiences severe, prolonged adversity without adequate support. Toxic stress means that the stress response stays continuously activated in the body. Toxic stress impacts children developmentally and behaviorally.

(See “Resources” at the end of this course for more information on ACEs.)

Trauma-Informed Practice

Trauma-informed practice is a model for engaging with individuals and families that recognizes the impact and influence that trauma may have on them. Goals of a trauma-informed practice are to avoid the inadvertent retraumatization of individuals through one’s own interactions with them and to understand that trauma may have an impact on a person’s behavior.

Trauma-informed practice includes identifying one’s own past experiences or trauma and understanding how they may impact how one evaluates and makes decisions regarding an incident encountered in one’s professional capacity.

Six key elements of a trauma-informed approach include:

  1. Safety. The provider ensures safety for the patient, both physical and emotional, and maximizes the patient’s control. The provider aims to meet the basic needs of the patient, including necessary medications.
  2. Trustworthiness and transparency. The provider spells out the limits of confidentiality and ensures that the patient is heard and understood.
  3. Peer support. The provider encourages the patient who has survived trauma to implement self-help.
  4. Collaboration and mutuality. The provider acknowledges the individual roles of the patient and staff and attempts to even out power discrepancies.
  5. Empowerment, voice, and choice. The provider supports the individual’s sense of agency and helps the survivor become empowered.
  6. Cultural, historical, and gender issues. The provider recognizes that there may be sources of trauma from cultural, racial, ethnicity, gender, and historical issues, including adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
    (HTC, n.d.)

Resilience and Protective Factors

The ability to bounce back from challenges and hardship is called resilience. This quality has been shown to reduce the negative impacts of ACEs in both parents and children. Certain protective factors can boost resilience in both parents and children. These include:

  • Supportive and caring relationships and social connections
  • Programs that understand a person’s background and culture
  • A healthy lifestyle (e.g., regular exercise, mindfulness, sufficient sleep, a healthy and nutritious diet)
  • Economic support/stability for families
  • Quality childcare and education early in life
    (NYS OCFS, n.d.-b)

Professionals can help reduce the effects of ACEs by supporting children and families to increase these protective factors.