Browsing by Subject "Childhood trauma"

Childhood maltreatment is a potent and common form of early trauma that not only produces negative outcomes for individuals during their lifetime, but may also have consequences for the next generation. Mothers who have experienced childhood maltreatment are more likely to have children also exposed to maltreatment, a phenomenon known as the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment. The perinatal period, the earliest point of intersection between generations, may offer an opportunity to interrupt such transmission. This dissertation leveraged two longitudinal studies in diverse global settings to examine how childhood maltreatment influences maternal mental health during the postpartum period, in turn impacting children’s risk for maltreatment exposure and related outcomes. In Study 1, a UK-based longitudinal cohort of 1,116 mothers and their twin children (E-Risk) was used to: (1) explore maternal childhood maltreatment as a risk factor for postpartum depression; (2) test the bridging role of postpartum depression between maternal childhood maltreatment and long-term child outcomes, specifically child exposure to maltreatment, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing symptoms; and (3) examine the intergenerational effects of specific maltreatment subtypes. Structural equation modeling revealed that maternal childhood maltreatment predicted postpartum depression, which in turn predicted child maltreatment exposure between 5 and 12 years and subsequent child internalizing and externalizing symptoms at 12 years. Indirect effects through postpartum depression were significant, robust across twin zygosity and child gender, and persisted after controlling for maternal covariates – though appeared to be carried by later maternal depression when included. In particular, emotional abuse emerged as a significant predictor of this pathway above and beyond other subtypes. In Study 2, similar aims were examined in a sample of 150 South African mothers followed through pregnancy and into the first postpartum year, with more proximal outcomes including maternal-infant bonding, infant development, and infant growth. Again, maternal childhood maltreatment predicted postpartum depression through 6 months, which then predicted child outcomes at 1 year. Indirect effects through postpartum depression were significant and persisted for maternal-infant bonding and infant physical growth after controlling for maternal and child covariates and accounting for antenatal distress. In particular, emotional neglect was a significant predictor of this pathway above and beyond other subtypes. Alterations in maternal emotion processing emerged as a potential explanatory mechanism. Together, findings from this dissertation underscore how postpartum depression may play a role in perpetuating negative outcomes across generations and in different global settings. Identifying and treating postpartum depression, as well as preventing its occurrence/recurrence, may help interrupt the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment and its sequelae.

In observing the practice of youth ministry in the church, I have come to recognize the huge disparity between the needs of church-connected youth and what traditional communities of faith have offered them in the way of safe spaces. These are spaces where they can process the thoughts, feelings and behaviors associated with the many trauma experiences they are dealing or have dealt with.

Historically, the church has obsessed over teaching youth default Christian moralisms, while generally ignoring and failing to address the precipitating factors that inform their decision making. But, how can we expect young people to make good choices when their options are limited, and our “solutions” do not consider the challenges they experience on a daily basis? A model of youth ministry that does not seriously deal with the issue of trauma will never be enough to meet the needs of today’s youth.

This means that in order for church-connected youth to thrive, our approach to ministry must be one that is trauma-informed, strength-based and healing centered. That is to say, if faith-based practitioners engaged in the work of religion and spirituality intend to be effective in meeting the urgent contemporary social and personal needs of church-connected youth, then our approach must be one that engages suffering and trauma rather than ignoring its existence.

In this paper, I engage the scholarship of experts in the areas of positive youth development and trauma informed care, religion and ethics, and theology and spirituality. I subsequently explore the intersection between trauma, adolescent spirituality and the relational-developmental systems theory of positive youth development offering ways in which integrating “best practices” from each space can lead to effective ministry that is strength-based, trauma-informed and healing centered.