Beginning the research proposal- Does Childhood Traumatic Experiences Contribute to Psychiatric Disorders in Adulthood?
Psychiatric illnesses are increasingly becoming a global health concern. These disorders cause significant morbidity and mortality in many population groups. Notwithstanding, these illnesses form part of the ignored or poorly understood illnesses. Their invisibility and differences in how communities perceive these illnesses have been blamed for this discourse. As healthcare systems are tilting toward innovative ways to manage these illnesses, great consideration has been given to the pathogenic principles underlying these illnesses. Understanding the factors interplaying in their development and how they manifest allows the establishment of healthcare resources that are valuable in managing mental health illnesses. This paper examines the pathogenetic features preceding mental health illnesses with emphasis on the nexus between these illnesses and traumatic childhood experiences. Do you need any help for completing your assignment ? Contact us at eminencepapers.com. We endeavor to provide you with excellent service.
Research Question
The research question is, “Does childhood traumatic experience contribute to psychiatric disorders in adulthood?”
This research is guided by the trauma model of mental health illnesses. Mental health illnesses have a multi-factorial etiology. Genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors have been implicated in the development of mental health illnesses. Environmental factors such as where a person lives, childhood experiences, relationships, maternal influences, and pollution are known to interplay in the development of psychiatric manifestations. Traumatic experiences in childhood, particularly, have been associated with several mental health illnesses in the later years. Understanding these factors allows the establishment of effective management frameworks and is thus integral to effective psychiatric care.
Traumatic experiences in childhood encompass events that cause stress in a child’s life. These include sexual and physical assault, exposure to any form of violence, the sudden death of a loved one, and exposure to natural disasters such as earthquakes. Regardless of the form of a traumatic event, these experiences have profound effects on the emotional, physical, psychosocial, and spiritual health of an individual. McKay et al. (2021) note that childhood traumatic events impact a child’s psychosocial and mental health in their later lives. Children with such experiences tend to have difficulty managing, expressing, and identifying their emotions. Additionally, they tend to internalize or externalize their stress reactions and may thus experience anxiety, depression, and anger. These effects often interplay in their future illnesses and are often overlooked or unidentified during their management.
Several mental health illnesses have been associated with traumatic childhood events. Nelson et al. (2020) report that there is a strong nexus between childhood experiences and mental health illnesses. Psychiatric disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, reactive attachment disorders, adjustment disorders, and others are correlated with traumatic childhood events such as emotional abuse, bullying, parental loss, and general maltreatment. The overarching principle behind the development of these disorders is the loss of trust, connection, and self-worth that proceeds from these events. Children exposed to such events often internalize the feeling that they are not lovable and have low self-worth. More often, they resort to maladaptive behaviors such as alcohol abuse and may develop depression, anxiety, and anger issues in their adolescence and adulthood. Findings have revealed that the incidence of mental health and other somatic illnesses such as sleep disturbance disorders, lower perception of self, and reduced emotional well-being are up to twice as high in individuals who were exposed to a form of a traumatic event in their childhood (Devi et al., 2019). This reveals the extent of involvement of these events in their suffering.
Hypothesis
Childhood experiences contribute to psychiatric disorders in adulthood. Traumatic events in early childhood, such as bullying and parental loss, contribute to psychiatric illnesses in later life.
References
Devi, F., Shahwan, S., Teh, W. L., Sambasivam, R., Zhang, Y. J., Lau, Y. W., Ong, S. H., Fung, D., Gupta, B., Chong, S. A., & Subramaniam, M. (2019). The prevalence of childhood trauma in psychiatric outpatients. Annals of General Psychiatry, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12991-019-0239-1