The Role of Childhood Trauma in Adult Disease
October 10, 2011
Coauthors of Ghosts from the Nursery: Tracing the Roots of Violence, family therapist Karr-Morse and crime-prevention expert Wiley look at the lifelong ripple effects of trauma from before birth through early childhood on physical and emotional health, and on cognitive functioning. They define “trauma” broadly to include not only dramatic and often violent events, such as physical abuse, but more subtle, gradual ones, such as a mother’s emotional neglect of her young child. With a particular interest in the first years of life—“what happens before age two permanently affects our health, including the aging process”—the authors cite dozens of recent studies to support their argument and consider research from the emerging field of epigenetics (how genes are affected by environmental factors). This is an information-packed book, but contains little anecdotal material. Although appendixes include advice on seeking therapy and other resources for parents, its wealth of scientific data may make it most suitable for medical professionals, researchers, and social scientists. But the authors do make a very persuasive case that preventive measures should be taken to eliminate or mitigate early trauma, which can “literally change our minds by altering the DNA that controls brain functions.”
November 1, 2011
Investigation of the importance of attachment between baby and caretaker--usually the mother--in setting the path to physical and mental health. In a follow-up to their Ghosts from the Nursery: Tracing the Roots of Violence (1998), family therapist Karr-Morse and Wiley, state director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids in New York, write that without that bond, there is danger that a baby will be stressed, triggering the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and flooding the baby's developing nervous system with flight-or-fight hormones. The baby, unable to flee or fight, may succumb to trauma, defined as being frozen in fear. Such trauma is the root of being "scared sick": suffering ills that may not appear until later in life. Among many others, these can include autism, Alzheimer's, addiction, ADHD, schizophrenia, PTSD, suicide, chronic pain, obesity, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. The authors look at scores of surveys, correlations, retrospective analyses, animal studies and expert opinions, laced with dramatic statistics. They do not ignore poverty, nutrition, illness, injury or other negative risk factors, but the first half of the book is such an overwhelming recital of trauma's legacy that it may arouse skepticism in some facts. To be sure, infancy and toddlerhood are critical times in development, and the authors are solidly in the line of such pioneers as John Bowlby and Harry Harlow. Karr-Morse and Wiley shore up their thesis with a chapter indicating that in infancy the more emotional right brain develops at a faster rate than the left, as well as a chapter on epigenetics to explain how trauma may reset which genes are turned off or on. Finally, the authors provide an array of therapies and resources to ameliorate the effects of trauma, most involving some physical actions and establishing trust with the therapist. A wake-up call? Absolutely. Readers don't need to buy all the data to get the message, especially where events in America and abroad conspire to increase child poverty and deprivation.
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
December 1, 2011
According to family therapist Karr-Morse and crime-prevention expert Wiley, the epidemics of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, addiction, and depression all have their roots in childhood trauma. The stress of living with abuse and chronic fear affect the immune and nervous systems, triggering the fight-flight-freeze response that evolved to protect us from danger. While life is considerably less dangerous now than when the trait first appeared, the constant stress that accompanies living in a high-tech environment keeps it active. Karr-Morse and Wiley argue that children growing up in these stressful, traumatic environments are at high risk for chronic diseases. They offer a plan to counteract these debilitating effects: attachment parenting to establish strong relationships, self-regulation, safety, appropriate therapy and medical treatment, and the return to a holistic rather than fragmented health-care system. A series of appendixes addresses preventing childhood trauma during divorce and lists diseases caused by mistreatment in childhood, symptoms of childhood trauma, guidelines for working with traumatized children, and effective programs and policies. VERDICT This thought-provoking book will be useful for professionals working with at-risk children.--Barbara M. Bibel, Oakland P.L.
Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from December 1, 2011
As if the world needs more evidence that what goes around comes around, Karr-Morse and Wiley present this raft of information confirming that pain (fear, stress, and trauma) felt in infancy returns later in life as illnesses, even deadly ones. Indeed, it turns out that the rule applies equally to prenatal and perinatal as well as postnatal experiences. Even prenatal interventions, such as invasive procedures intended to save fetal lives, can have adverse health effects down the road. Planning a scheduled forced delivery? Think again. Assume that a two-day-old infant can't feel a medical procedure? Think again. Early pain can make for greater sensitivity to pain as an adult. Certain so-called primitive cultures once cautioned pregnant women about the danger of looking at nasty stuff. Evidence shows that maternal stress and trauma have a potent impact on the fetus that can, in turn, result in childhood diagnoses of everything from autism to ADHD. Adult illnesses such as fibromyalgia and chronic-fatigue syndrome are also being traced to prenatal causes. And although there is a tendency to utter Who knew? to much of this information, Karr-Morse and Wiley present enough groundbreaking data that the only reasonable response is a head slap. How couldn't we know? is more like it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)