Trauma is a powerful force that can shape the way children view themselves, others and the world around them. The impact of trauma extends beyond emotions, leaving lasting imprints on the body, brain and overall well-being. Understanding trauma opens the door to healing and resilience. Let’s explore what trauma is, how it impacts children and how neuroscience is helping organizations like KVC Health Systems empower children and families to overcome these challenges and thrive.

What is Trauma?

According to the Trauma-Informed Care Implementation Resource Center, trauma “results from exposure to an incident or series of events that are emotionally disturbing or life-threatening with lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, and/or spiritual wellbeing.”

Trauma is more common than you might think. It is estimated that 2 out of 3 youth will be exposed to trauma before the age of 16. Traumatic childhood experiences can include abuse, neglect, parental substance abuse, natural disasters and other life-altering events. Traumatic experiences can impact how a child views themselves and responds to the world. 

How Trauma is Stored in the Body

Trauma is often associated with physical symptoms like a clenched jaw, muscle tension, shallow breathing or chest tightness. These are all symptoms of trauma being stored in the hippocampus and amygdala: the emotional and memory centers of the brain. These parts of the brain store memories of trauma — even when a child does not consciously remember the traumatic experiences.

When triggered by a perceived threat, the brain activates the “fight-or-flight” response to stop the trauma from processing. Because the brain never fully processes the trauma, it continues to remain stored in the body. This can lead to future health concerns. 

The Impact of Trauma on Brain Development and Function

For decades, neuroscience has revealed how trauma affects a child’s developing brain. Experiencing trauma impacts behavior, biological development and even later-life health. More recently, researchers have used AI to analyze brain scans and identify how neural pathways are rewired as a result of abuse and trauma. While each person is different and processes trauma in individual, unique ways, there are several possible neurobiological impacts on a child’s body as a result of trauma, whether they remember it or not.

Executive Function Issues

The mental skills required for healthy emotional and behavioral responses — largely supported by the prefrontal cortex — are known as executive functions. Executive functions include:

• Working memory: Temporarily storing and working with information inputs without losing track of active tasks.
• Cognitive flexibility: Shifting thinking between different thoughts and ideas, as well as the ability to change and adapt based on these new perspectives.
• Inhibitory control: Suppressing irrelevant thoughts, impulses and behaviors to “think before you act.”

Childhood trauma can hinder all of these executive functions. One study found that both inhibitory control and working memory were impaired in children who were exposed to maltreatment. This impact was worse in children who experienced maltreatment as infants and/or across multiple developmental stages. Maltreatment in childhood rewires the structure, function and connectivity of prefrontal regions of the brain, impairing everything from conflict monitoring to decision-making.

Emotional Dysregulation

Children develop emotional awareness, understanding and regulation as a result of interactions with parents, caregivers and other supportive adults. However, when those caregiving figures are exposing the child to abuse, neglect or other maltreatment, it is difficult for the child to effectively develop those emotion regulation skills. 

This can be further exacerbated by the reliance of emotion regulation on executive functioning and is also heavily affected by early childhood trauma and ongoing trauma. Difficulty with emotion regulation may lead to several consequences throughout childhood or later in life, such as:

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Depression
• Trouble recognizing emotions in self or others
• Inability to react to emotions in healthy ways
• Other forms of emotional dysregulation

Dissociation

A person who has experienced childhood trauma may struggle with dissociation: feelings of disconnection from yourself or the world around you. Dissociation can sometimes be a helpful tool for managing high-stress or traumatic situations. However, it can become a coping mechanism as a result of ongoing exposure to trauma. While individuals with histories of childhood trauma often experience dissociation by feeling disconnected from themselves, many also report frequent chronic somatization, or experiencing stress and trauma as physical symptoms.

Elevated Stress and Associated Health Risks

Chronic exposure to abuse and neglect builds up elevated stress hormones in the brain. This ongoing, toxic stress can lead to an increased risk of many negative health outcomes, including:

• Mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and PTSD
• Cardiovascular issues (heart disease)
• An increased risk of cancer
• Various other chronic health conditions such as asthma, liver disease, autoimmune diseases, diabetes and fibromyalgia.

Building Resilience and Healing from Trauma

Trauma can have a lifelong impact on our bodies and our brains. But there is good news: Our brains can change, and it’s never too late for change to occur. 

The human brain is developing every second of every day, long into adulthood. Our brains have the ability to grow stronger. They can learn how to solve complex problems and bounce back after difficult situations. This means that children who have experienced trauma are still capable of healing and building resilience with proper care and treatment.

Resilience refers to a person’s ability to work through challenging situations, including traumatic experiences. Parents and caregivers can help build resilience in children through positive childhood experiences (PCEs) like creating opportunities to discuss and accept feelings, participating in community traditions and creating a safe, protective home environment.

The most powerful tool for treating childhood trauma and building resilience is connection: that sense of belonging, feeling valued and seen by others.

How KVC Uses Neuroscience to Help Children and Families

At KVC Health Systems, we are committed to providing research-based, trauma-informed interventions, policies and services to support children and families experiencing or healing from trauma. Part of this involves aligning our child and family services to neuroscience, prioritizing healthy brain development as a key component of behavioral and mental health care.

We believe that healthy, prosperous communities start with healthy brains. If we want to see the larger communities that make up our world thrive, change must start with the families and individuals who comprise that community. Similarly, a healthy brain develops best in a healthy, safe community! Learn more about how neuroscience informs our practice, policy and public decisions in order to help vulnerable children and families.