Child Trauma Research

Child Trauma Research

Introduction

There has been a high rise in the interest of trauma research, which makes the policymakers, ethics moderators and parents to grapple on the impact of such traumatic-research on the participants of the research. Several questions have been asked concerning the benefits and the risk that comes with being involved in traumatic research. It has been challenging to find out the best means in which the traumatic-research studies can be ethically designed to reduce the risks on the participants. Majority of the participants experience distress, stress and depression after their participation in the research. Distressing childhood experience can have long term implications on the entire life of the child throughout their adulthood to old age (Wallace, 2018). This paper discusses the risk and benefit of involving children in trauma research.

Risks involving children in trauma research

Immune system

Trauma in childhood activates the immune system, which produces the cytokines that enhances inflammatory reaction against disease, causing organism. Cytokines are essential in ensuring the body is protected against infection, though cytokines are always implicated during the depression, which is always experienced during early trauma (Keil, 2019). As such, exposure to trauma during research places the children at risk of not being able to suppress the lymphocytes that cause an increase in antibodies production, therefore, leading to the high level of antibodies in the body of a traumatized child. The increased levels of inflammatory cytokines are highly associated with the development of chronic stress and post-traumatic stress disorder when the child grows to an adult.

Cognitive development and judgment

Children exposed to childhood trauma have lower IQ, low academic achievement and language deficiency. Besides, children exposed to childhood trauma are at risk of developing poor memory, visual attention, inhibitory control and poor learning. When the child reaches the youthful stage, they are likely to perform poorly in all aspect of neurocognitive domains except the domain of fine-motor. Continuous trauma related to long researches results in neuropsychological problems that may present with PTSD symptoms (Jackson, 2016). Besides, childhood trauma leads to reading inability that results in lower IQ scores for the child as they grow. Therefore, childhood trauma-research affects the cognitive function because childhood trauma is related to adverse cognitive development which further leads to adverse brain development.

Ethical dilemma

One of the elements that are used in designing and conducting human research is ethically informed making of decision from the participants. The current ethical concepts aim at ensuring autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence and respect for persons (Ferguson, 2017). Children are still young and seen as under the age of being an adult for them to decide to participate in the traumatic-research. The ethical concept of autonomy and making of personal choice to participate in the research is not observed when children are involved, which brings in an ethical dilemma on the involvement of children in trauma-research. Ethics states that research should aim at achieving its research objective without harming the participants. Childhood trauma-research exposes the child into the trauma that has severe implication in the entire life of a child (Ferguson, 2017). Some of the implication affect the psychology, brain development, interpersonal relationship with others, suppresses the immune system of the child against diseases, influence cognitive judgment negatively and the biological impact that affect the health of the child throughout adulthood to their old age. Therefore, from the ethics view, child trauma-research causes harm to the child for the rest of their lives, and it also lacks the observation of the ethical concept of autonomy among the children.

Social interaction

The hormone oxytocin has a more prominent role in an interpersonal relationship because it is involved in regulating social interactions that entails cognition, social memory, attachment, empathy and emotional recognition. Exposure to trauma disrupts the oxytocin production in the body of the child, which affects their social interaction in future. The disturbance in the oxytocin production among the children can result in low oxytocin production, which leads to the development of problems related to personal attachment when the child grows to an adult in future (Keil, 2019). Besides, children exposed to trauma in their early age develop psychological disorders such as stress, depression and PTSD in the future, which affect their interpersonal relationship with their significant others. The adults who had gone through trauma in their childhood have difficulties in their marriage and family lives because of chronic stress and PTSD. Therefore child trauma research affects the attachment of the child negatively, which result in a poor interpersonal relationship, poor social interaction and difficulty in bonding with the family members and their marriage in future.

Benefits of involving children in trauma research

Trauma-informed system

Research helps in coming up with evidence-based practice in the trauma systems and the health care system on the management of trauma. Research is the key sources of practice changes in the management of people suffering from trauma (Mille et al., 2019). Several times adult interventions have been documented with no child intervention because of limited involvement of children in trauma research. As a result, the same interventions used in adults are used in the management of children. Child trauma research helps in understanding the effects and the causes of traumatic experiences among the children as well as the best intervention that support child recovery. The research provides trauma management approach for the various children who have suffered from traumatic experiences. It helps the health care professionals working with the children suffering from trauma to develop evidence-based intervention and strategies to be used in addressing the needs of patients with trauma.

Trauma advocacy

The research results obtained in the development of strategies and measures that are used in advocating for the needs and care of children suffering from trauma. Advocating for policy changes and creating awareness concerning trauma among children is essential in the management of the trauma (Mille et al., 2019). Besides, the information obtained from the research helps in designing the regulation and advocacy tool that can be used in determining the trauma and violence impact on child development. Therefore, enhance effective response to child traumatic stress through advocacy and legal representation that enhance recovery of children exposed to trauma.

Conclusion

It has been difficult to find out the best means in which the traumatic-research studies can be ethically designed to reduce the risks on the participants. The increased levels of inflammatory cytokines are highly associated with the development of chronic stress and post-traumatic stress disorder when the child grows to an adult. Children exposed to childhood trauma have lower IQ, low academic achievement and language deficiency. Childhood trauma-research exposes the child into the trauma that has severe implication in the entire life of a child. Children exposed to trauma in their early age develop psychological disorders such as stress, depression and PTSD in the future, which affect their interpersonal relationship with their significant others. Therefore, children should not be involved in trauma research.

References

Ferguson, D. (2017). Child care and early education for children who have experienced trauma: Research-to-policy resources.

Jackson, Y. (2016). Child Trauma Research: Future Directions and Next Steps. Merrill Series on The Research Mission of Public Universities, 21-28.

Keil, S. L. (2019). Multicultural and the Treatment of Child Trauma: Research Trends from the Last Ten Years.

Miller, J. J., Koh, E., Niu, C., Bode, M., & Moody, S. (2019). Examining child trauma knowledge among kin caregivers: Implications for practice, policy, and research. Children and Youth Services Review, 100, 112-118.

Wallace, C. M. (2018). The Relationship of Maternal Trauma to Parent-Child Interaction and Child Social-Emotional Functioning. The University of Hartford.