Assignment 2: Kinds of trauma II. Childhood Trauma brought by Terrorism

Childhood Trauma brought by Terrorism
Your Name
Subject and Section
Professor’s Name
January 4, 2020
Childhood trauma is a pressing concern for everybody including both state and non-state actors. It affects the child’s development and well-being, which in turn, affects how he grows up to be a productive member of society. In fact, a study made by Stevens (2013), shows that this phenomenon affects an estimated number of 35 million in the United States alone. While some of the most common factors that lead to childhood trauma include economic distress, illness, and divorce, some extreme events could also cause severe repercussions to the child’s well-being such as terrorism. In this paper, the author would discuss the effects of terrorism on a child’s development. Specifically, this would cover both direct causes (i.e., personal experience) and indirect causes (i.e., media exposure). The succeeding sections would also suggest an intervention method to mitigate the risks of long-lasting effects on the child’s behavior. All in all, the author believes that understanding the causality between terrorism and long-term effects would help in outlining effective interventions for all stakeholders involved.
Terrorism and Childhood Trauma
As compared to other causes of childhood trauma, the severity of the means employed by terrorists creates a wider effect on children. On the one hand, terrorism could affect children indirectly as they become exposed to the harsh repercussions of these acts. In an article written by Walker (2017), she noted that even children who are merely exposed to media coverage of terrorism become more vulnerable to feelings of “anxiety, troubled sleep, and concern for their safety and that of their parents”. This is due to the fact that as compared to adults, children have yet to develop their cognitive abilities to comprehend the means and the effects that violence entails. Another study conducted by Nuttman-Shwartz (2017), shows that media exposure of these events could also lead to increased aggression and/or post-traumatic stress symptoms among children.
On the other hand, direct causes such as the personal experience of terrorist acts could lead to more severe implications for the child’s growth and well-being. In a 2017 study conducted by Halevi, et al., they found out that children who suffered from direct acts of terrorism could develop long-term symptoms such as depression, anxiety as well as other changes in their psychopathologies. They also added that such symptoms can even be exacerbated by a lack of social and emotional support especially from the child’s mother. In the short-term, children who survive terrorist attacks could also develop a range of strong emotions such as fear, rage, and despair (Walker, 2017).
Manifestations of Childhood Trauma
Despite the many behavioral effects of terrorism to the child’s behavior, some of the most common ones include (1) nightmares, (2) clinginess, and (2) socialization anxiety (Walker, 2017).
First, nightmares and persistent insomnia could be experienced by both children who have directly and indirectly experienced acts of terrorism. One study conducted by De Cock (2017) showed t...