Trauma And Stressor-Related Disorder Research Paper

Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders
Samantha Farmer
Liberty University

Abstract
Trauma- and stressor-related disorders are psychological illnesses that are triggered by traumatic events experienced by an individual. These debilitating disorders include reactive attachment disorder, disinhibited social engagement disorder, acute stress disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and adjustment disorders. Traumas that can trigger one of these disorders include sexual victimization, involvement in battle or war, or any other traumatic event especially those which are interpersonal. Assessing those who may suffer with a trauma- or stressor-related disorder can prove to be difficult. A practitioner must be culturally sensitive. One
Children who develop this disorder experience neglect and are denied stimulation and affection by their adult caregivers. This disorder is also often seen in children who have been moved from caregiver to caregiver such as in the foster care system. This happens because the child has not been able to spend enough time with any caregiver in order to develop a healthy attachment. Children who are reared in institutions such as orphanages are also at risk for RAD as the children are never able to develop an attachment to any one selected caregiver due to the high child-to caregiver ratio. A persistent type is diagnosed if the child has shown symptoms for over 12 months. Symptoms include emotionally withdrawn behavior in which the child rarely seeks comfort or responds to comfort when distressed on a consistent level. He or she also may have trouble emotionally responding to others, have limited positive affect, and may experience episodes of unexplained irritability, sadness, or fearfulness (American Psychiatric Association (APA),
The diagnoses of both RAD and DSED depend on the environmental trauma of extreme neglect (APA, 2013). Infants and small children need to form secure attachments in order to feel safe. When secure and consistent attachments are not formed, children learn they cannot depend on their caregivers. Therefore, they never learn the appropriate approach to obtain comfort from their caregivers (Velotti, Di Folco, & Cesare Zavattini, 2013). Even inconsistent, harsh discipline strategies, limited warmth, and lack of responsiveness or rejection can influence the development of psychopathological behavior in children (De Clercq, Van Leeuwen, De Fruyt, Van Hiel, & Mervielde, 2008). Another environmental risk factor is the exposure to trauma by one 's parent. One study examining the trauma exposure of mothers whose children were involved in the child welfare (CW) system showed that 91.6% of the mothers had experienced at least one traumatic event and 92.2% reported that their children had experienced at least one traumatic event. This shows that children whose are raised in an environment with parents who have experienced trauma are themselves prone to experience trauma (Chemtob, Griffing, Tullberg, Roberts, & Ellis, 2011). Other environmental factors that may influence the development of a trauma- or stressor-related disorder include lower socio-economic status, lower