Sharing – Why Deprivation May Be More Damaging Than Trauma in Childhood
We don’t talk about the long-term effects of trauma in childhood, but we talk much more about that than we do the long-term effects of going through childhood with deprivation:
A new study published in Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences has found that adolescents are more likely to experience depression and anxiety if their parents faced adversity during their own childhoods. The research also shows that children exposed to deprivation, such as poverty or neglect, are at particularly high risk, with these effects persisting throughout adolescence. Experiences involving threat, such as bullying or violence, appear to have a stronger impact at younger ages.
https://www.mqmentalhealth.org/why-deprivation-may-be-more-damaging-than-trauma-in-childhood/
We can’t talk about solutions to the mental health epidemic amongst young people if we aren’t willing to recognize the mental health impacts of poverty and neglect.
I survived childhood trauma and struggled for most of my early adult years, feeling like I didn’t deserve to control my own life because I had never been allowed to. How could a survivor of abuse be expected to think of themselves as worthy when their experience shows them the opposite? I think we understand that with trauma.
Why would a kid growing up in poverty, without enough food, and without the social support to succeed in school, feel any different about themselves as they enter adulthood? There’s a connection there; good mental health is hard to find when the entire world tells you you’re less-than.
Maybe we should stop viewing anyone as less-than and fight to make sure no kids go without.
