This brief summarizes the working paper, "The Science of Early Childhood Development: Closing the Gap between What We Know and What We Do" (ED503049). In early childhood, research on the biology of stress shows how major adversity, such as extreme poverty, abuse, or neglect can weaken developing brain architecture and permanently set the…

Two contrasting cases are discussed of boys with autistic spectrum disorder who had suffered cumulative trauma. Although their material was similar in many respects, the 9-year-old made excellent progress during therapy, while the 4-year-old developed much less in spite of being in intensive treatment. This contrast is discussed with regard to…

This paper suggests that some neuroscience concepts particularly concerned with brain pathways in trauma and fear, as well as the neurobiology of emotion, provide an additional vertex to the psychoanalytic understanding of patients' material. The role of the body has been neglected in psychoanalytic thought and formulations in favour of purely…

Objective: To examine the durability of improvement in child and maternal symptoms 6 months after termination of child-parent psychotherapy (CPP). Method: Seventy-five multiethnic preschool-age child-mother dyads from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds were randomly assigned to (1) CPP or (2) case management plus community referral for individual…

Using a quasi-experimental design, this study examined the effectiveness of a standardized intervention model designed to build resiliency in children of women with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders and histories of interpersonal abuse. The children and mothers who participated in this study were a subset of the sample used…

This article presents findings from a quasi-experimental, nonrandomized group design study that explored whether trauma-enhanced substance abuse treatment results in longer residential treatment stays and improved outcomes compared with treatment-as-usual. We used a subsample (N = 461) of participants in the Women, Co-Occurring Disorders and…

Using data from a common cross-site protocol administered at study enrollment, in this article we examine key characteristics of 2,729 participants in the Women, Co-Occurring Disorders and Violence Study (WCDVS), including demographics, physical health, mental health, substance abuse, trauma experiences, parenting status, and past history of…

This guide to childhood traumatic grief for school personnel builds on the "In-Depth General Information Guide to Childhood Traumatic Grief" and the "Brief Information on Childhood Traumatic Grief" and should be read in conjunction with them. This guide for school personnel pays special attention to the reactions and symptoms school personnel…

Background: Dissociation--a pattern of general disruption in memory and consciousness--has been found to be an important cognitive component of children's and adults' coping with severe trauma. Dissociative experiences include amnesia, identity disturbance, age regression, difficulty with concentration, and trance states. Stable individual…

A history of traumatic experiences has been associated with poor physical health. This study examined associations between trauma and physical health, as well as changes in physical health over time, in women with co-occurring disorders and histories of violence who received either integrated trauma-informed services or usual care. Results…

Children exposed to parental substance abuse, mental illness, and violence face profound challenges, including increased risk for emotional and behavioral problems, substance abuse, and victimization. In this article, we describe the characteristics of a sample of children of women entering treatment. These children had been exposed to domestic…

A qualitative study was conducted with 28 women who are human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive and have experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in order to examine (1) the challenges generated by the experience of sexual abuse and related coping strategies, (2) the impact of the HIV diagnosis on their coping strategies, and (3) the links…

This study addresses urban Appalachian girls and identities as constructed within and outside of the written discourses of the institution known as school. Drawing on poststructuralist (Weedon, 1997) and sociocultural (Gee, 1996) perspectives of language, identities and discourses (Gee, 1996), and on the feminist philosopher Griffiths (1995), it…

Background: Most studies of the effects of trauma on mental health have generally not separately assessed psychosocial functioning, and in those that have key issues have received little attention, such as the relation between the time courses of the two kinds of outcome, and detailed assessment of social functioning in a range of domains. The…

Background: Child survivors of a catastrophic earthquake in Turkey were evaluated three and a half years after the event, and three years after a sub-group participated in a teacher-mediated intervention developed by the authors. The goal of this follow-up study was to determine the long-term effectiveness of the original intervention. Methods:…