ipl-logo

Mental Childhood Psychology

1143 Words5 Pages

Adults are shaped by the world around them – the household they grow up in, the people they meet, the relationships they form, and the way they are taught to cope with the challenges that life presents. The topic of this essay is applicable to all of us, no matter our backgrounds or upbringing; I may not have a mental illness, but I can certainly look back on my childhood and reflect on the experiences which I feel have made an impact on the way I think and behave today, as an adult. In the context of psychiatry, we were taught, on the very first day of our rotation, the correct format for taking a psychiatric history from a patient, a specific skill we had not yet acquired during our medical training. An important aspect was the inclusion …show more content…

These include abuse and its subtypes – physical, emotional, sexual – violence towards the mother or primary caregiver, and living in a household with substance misusers, those with mental illness or suicidality, and those with a history of imprisonment. A notable landmark in epidemiological research in this area was the ACES study carried out by Dr. Vincent Felitti, an internist in San Diego, California. Dr. Felitti is an international expert on childhood trauma and was at the forefront of this study which analysed 17,000 patients over a 2 year period under the seven headings of Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs) mentioned above. The study found a graded relationship between the number of categories of childhood exposure and each of the adult health risk behaviours and diseases that were studied. Patients with 4 or more categories of exposure had 4- 12 fold increased health risks of alcoholism, drug abuse, depression and suicide attempt. It made for very interesting reading, as not only did it show a link between these events and psychiatric illness, it also made me realise that they have an enormous impact on the physical health of the adult in later …show more content…

The HPA axis is a network regulating hypothalamic secretion of corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), anterior pituitary secretion of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), and adrenal cortical secretion of cortisol, which then provides feedback at the hypothalamus and pituitary (as well as other brain structures such as the hippocampus) and has downstream effects on other organs and physiologic systems. It is believed that dysregulation of these hormones is potentially responsible for psychiatric malfunctions. For example, according to Shah and Malla, 2015, the HPA axis enters a hyperactive state during the early phase of psychotic illness. Stressors that precipitate psychosis give rise to a high, flat diurnal profile of cortisol release resulting in a high overall level of daily cortisol release. I believe this shows a causal link between environmental factors and the pathophysiology of psychiatric illness. It is certainly an area that requires further investigation, as we currently know so little about the aetiology of many mental

Show More
Related
1565 Words | 7 Pages

Nor is there any single description that captures all families in which children are victims of abuse and neglect” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Administration on Children, Youth and Families Children 's Bureau, 2003). Research has recognized that there are numerous risk factors or characteristics parents or caregivers may show or have experienced that could increase the likelihood of child maltreatment, e.g., financial instability, participation in social service programs, family factors such as: age, personality, substance abuse, history of maltreatment stress, domestic violence; environmental factors and disabilities (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Administration on Children, Youth and Families Children 's Bureau, 2003 & 2015). Because of the data, these commonalities are able to be precursors leading up to child abuse or maltreatment but many times it is hard to measure the severity of them and therefore they may end up undetected (U.S DHHSA

Read More
2249 Words | 9 Pages

The incidence of child abuse and neglect has increased dramatically in the past 25 years; the statistics have risen over 130% since 1980 with 1993 being the first year since 1972 in which the number was less than the previous year. Throughout the years child abuse has had a greater impact on the United States and more thorough research has been brought out. The United States has one of the worst records among industrialized nations, losing more than four children on average every day to child abuse and neglect.(cite source) Among the many forms of child abuse are emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Physical abuse has statistically been in the lead since the 1980’s at 45%, while emotional abuse has been at 22% and sexual abuse has been at

Read More
150 Words | 1 Pages

Have you ever began to read something whether it be an article, story, or any piece of writing and quickly realized you have no idea what the writer is speaking about? The obvious answer is yes, and readers have come to appreciate the type of authors who make things clear and engaging for any non-specialist audience. An author in specific who was able to accomplish this, was Jeff Wise. He wrote a blog post in 2012 for Psychology today called “Deadly Mind Traps”, and eventually revised it in order to give it to the Readers Digest six months later. Jeff Wise was able to make his explanations clear, concise and engaging for any type of reader by breaking a seemingly big subject that appears confusing into five mini subjects; which include, The

Read More
1027 Words | 5 Pages

CPS 617 A: Assess.& Treatment of Child Abuse MeeSoo Lee Reaction Paper from chapter 1 to chapter 6 1. family abuse landscape “Abuse in the family” has been long in the history, however, it was not until the article called battered child syndrome (Kempe, et al., 1962) was appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association and started getting attention form professionals. Before that, culturally parents used to be thought to have a right to treat their children and also battered women’s shelters appeared with the term “spouse abuse” in 1972. I think it is very important that the issue is being able to get appropriate

Read More
443 Words | 2 Pages

In the video "How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Across a Lifetime," Nadine Burke Harris explains the effect of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on people's physical and mental health later in life. ACEs are defined as "potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood" and might include abuse, neglect, and dysfunction in the home. Burke Harris says that ACEs can have a major and long-lasting effect on a person's health, raising their risk for a variety of detrimental consequences like substance misuse, heart disease, and depression. Burke Harris raises several important observations, one of which is the prevalence of ACEs, with around two thirds of Americans reporting having had an ACE.

Read More
1108 Words | 5 Pages

Unlike past generations teens today find it hard to relate to someone who is the same age as them. The Catcher in the Rye is a book written by J. D. Salinger with a boy named Holden as the main character. Holden is a 17 year old who got kicked out of Pencey. Holden through the book becomes more depressing and doesn’t take care of himself, he goes days without sleeping and eating and get’s suicidal thoughts. Holden has a little sister named Phoebe, Holden loves Phoebe, Holden wants to protect Phoebe's innocence and every child’s innocence.

Read More
1386 Words | 6 Pages

It focuses on the death from abuse and neglect of nearly 68% of children 4 years old and younger. The consequences of child maltreatment can be severely damaging to a child and can result in poor health, depression, cancer, premature death, and substance abuse into adulthood. It talks about the different type of abuse and neglect whether physical, medical, educational, emotional and sexual. Abandonment is the most common type of commitment in contradiction of children. It also focuses on the solutions and outcomes of helping new parents gain knowledge of basic parenting skills by matching new families with trained nurses or

Read More
1081 Words | 5 Pages

Neglected children are more likely to have medical problems than children who have been physically or sexually abusing. For instance, in young children and foster care, there is a case where the police raid on a crack house which the adults fled and abandoned two children. They were placed in an emergency children’s shelter, and two weeks later they identified them. After the pediatrician had read their medical records, they learn that both of the children have been exposing to cocaine, hepatitis B exposure, and congenital syphilis which was treated in the newborn nursery. Many teens in the system abuse substances to cope with their trauma especially alcohol and cannabis.

Read More
462 Words | 2 Pages

In addition to working as a Clinical Research Associate, I wanted to gain exposure to other medical fields, not only emergency medicine. Positioned outside the ED’s research work office was the emergency department’s psychiatric unit. Having taken courses like Looking back on Growing Up and the Science of Happiness, I wanted to gain exposure to psychiatry, particularly the effects of early childhood trauma on the incidence of psychiatric disorders during adulthood. Motivated by my interests, I joined the Initiative for Social and Psychiatric Initiatives (InSPIRES) at the Bellevue Hospital Center. While working at Bellevue Hospital gave me the opportunity to interact with a diverse array of patients, ranging from homeless to underrepresented patients, working with the InSPIRES team, I got the opportunity to meet and interview inpatients and outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or schizoaffective disorder.

Read More
1985 Words | 8 Pages

“Complex trauma (i.e., exposure to chronic, interpersonal trauma in childhood) has been associated with structural and functional alterations in brain development, which in turn can result in cognitive and neuropsychological deficits” (Gabowitz, Zucker & Cook, 2008, p. 163). Typically, complex traumatic experiences begin in childhood and refer not only to the child’s exposure to the event but also the impact of these exposures on development (Gabowitz et al., 2008; Lawson, Davis & Brandon, 2013). Such exposures include repeated incidence of abuse (sexual, emotional and physical); neglect; loss; and witnessing domestic violence over an extended period of time (Gabowitz et al., 2008; Lawson et al., 2013). Ongoing childhood trauma has adverse

Read More
1860 Words | 8 Pages

Human development is a concept that has been researched and explored by many scholars and experts for centuries throughout human history. By the fact that human development begins at a cell-level, it is evident that there are numerous stages, which people go through between childhood and maturity. During these stages, people change and acquire other traits in terms of behavior and character. Additionally, they able to cope with certain environmental conditions as a result of adaptive features and abilities, acquired through human development. The study of adult development is, one might say, in its infancy.

Read More
378 Words | 2 Pages

Additional risk factors include having a caregiver who has untreated/unresolved trauma and who may have difficulty with affect regulation, depression, anxiety, and/or hostility/aggression (Harris, et al., 2004). Being a member of a high-risk group such as: having Native American, Alaskan Native, African American, and mixed-race decent (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008); being a homeless youth, LGBTQ+; and/or being a youth whose parents have a criminal record or history of mental illness can impede on the adolescent’s resiliency and ability to cope with trauma (Costello et al.,

Read More
2401 Words | 10 Pages

Each year in America alone, an estimate of two million children, ranging from infants to teenagers go through minor or major kinds of abuse which include neglect, physical, emotional, and sexual maltreatment. According to the National American Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, neglect represented 54% of confirmed cases of child abuse, physical abuse represented 22%, sexual abuse represented 8%, emotional maltreatment represented 4%, and other forms of maltreatment represented12%. It also indicates that child abuse is far more common in single-parent families than in families where both parents are

Read More
1141 Words | 5 Pages

The prevalence of child abuse is outlandish. So many children around the world are physically, sexually, emotionally, and mentally abused while in care for their parents. In detail, research shows “Nearly 700,000 children are abused in the U.S annually” (The National Children Alliance). Furthermore, “in 2008 there were roughly 22.9% fatalities” (Barnett, Perrin & Perrin, 2011, pg.147). For this reason, more attention must be brought to the public regarding this matter.

Read More
883 Words | 4 Pages

IMPLICATION OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY: Developmental psychology is a scientific approach which aims to explain that how children and adults change with time. A significant proportion of theories within this discipline focus upon development during childhood, as this is the period during an individual 's lifespan when the most change occurs. Developmental psychologists study a wide range of theoretical areas, such as biological, social, emotion, and cognitive processes. Normative development is typically viewed as a continual and cumulative process.

Read More

More about Mental Childhood Psychology

Related Topics

Open Document