Neurobiology of Stress and Trauma in Children and Adolescents

DELETERIOUS CONSEQUENCES OF CHILD MALTREATMENT  In the United States, in 2016, there were 676,000 victims of maltreatment (75% neglect).  It is not uncommon for child welfare involved children to experience Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) and depression stemming from prior experiences of child abuse and neglect.  Prior research using the framework of developmental traumatology has suggested that the overwhelming stress of child welfare involvement paired with maltreatment experiences in childhood may be associated with increased poor social outcomes in adulthood  Trauma has been documented as highly prevalent among adolescents involved with child welfare services most often stemming from earlier experiences of stressors