The Influence of Trauma Exposure on Children’s Outcomes

Abstract

All children should experience safety, stability, and stimulation from nurturing caregivers, who could be parents, other relatives, or persons external to the family, such as teachers. Unfortunately, the lives of many children are marked by exposure to traumatic events that potentially derail their development. This chapter reviews the sequelae of trauma exposure on children's outcomes. It begins by providing a framework for considering trauma's effects on children. The chapter then summarizes the research on trauma exposure and children's outcomes across developmental and functional domains. Specifically, the author covers the developmental sequelae across neurobiological, physical, motor, cognitive-academic, language, social-emotional, and mental health domains. The chapter also briefly explores the implications of the impact of trauma exposure for the interventions schools can provide for affected children. It provides an in-depth recommendation on how to translate knowledge of the developmental sequelae of trauma across Tiers 1–3 and how schools can respond accordingly through a trauma-informed framework. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)