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Writer's pictureLori Brown

How is Childhood Trauma Manifested in the Classroom?

Updated: May 22, 2022



Trauma can effect a student’s social, emotional, and cognitive development in ways that result in difficulties adjusting to the social and academic requirements of school (Jennings, 2019). Traumatic events, or Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) that cause distress to students may include harm, or threat of harm, to themselves or to others, family violence, community violence, serious illness, natural disasters, or an unexpected separation from a loved one (Copeleand et al., 2018). In a household, risks of trauma may include abuse and neglect or the physical or mental illness of other family members (Lang et al., 2016). In a study conducted by Cronholm et al. (2015) with 1,784 respondents, 72.9% had at least one household ACE, 63.4% at least one community-based ACE, and 49.3% experienced both. The most common threat of trauma to children and adolescents, however, is not necessarily a single-occurrence, traumatic event, but rather the habitual incidents of upsetting events that happen chronically within the home or community. Examples of these incidents are homelessness or extreme poverty, living in a volatile community, or living with domestic violence at home, which can all interfere with a child’s ability to engage in school (Perfect et al. 2016). The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report in 2016 indicted that students who have had ACEs are more likely to have higher rates of absenteeism and lower academic achievement (Crandall et al, 2019).

Direct and indirect exposure of children to traumatic events have been found to cause long-term academic, social, and psychological challenges (Suarez-Orozco, 2015; Finkelhor, 2015). Furthermore, students who have experienced three or more ACEs are 2.5 times more likely than students who have not been exposed to an ACE to fail a grade, be suspended from school, be referred to remedial programs, or have physical health challenges (Chriqui et al., 2019). These students also tend to have difficulty processing and remembering new information, struggle with interpersonal interactions, and have trouble with problem solving, critical thinking skills, and organization while struggling with emotional regulation. These challenges often present as impulsivity, defiance, withdrawal, and/or perfectionism (Litgen, 2013). In addition, trauma exposure may impede a student’s ability to experience positive thoughts regarding themselves and others while physically hindering their brain growth and function (Andrews et al., 2015).

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