Abstract
Statement of Problem Just under half of all children in the United States have experienced at least one traumatic event according to data from the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) (Sacks & Murphey, 2018). Children from racially and ethnically minoritized (REM) backgrounds experience higher rates of traumatic events. Traumatic experiences have negative effects on cognitive functioning, impairing working memory, attention, and executive functioning (Goodman et al., 2012). Traumatized students often have an increase in externalizing behaviors such as disruptive behaviors, aggression, hyperactivity, and defiance (Perfect et al, 2016). These externalizing behaviors lead to discipline referrals, suspension, and expulsion which can be re-traumatizing for these traumatized students (Joseph-McCatty et al., 2024; Sedillo-Hamann, 2022). Youth who experience repeated trauma are at greater risk for drug abuse and internalizing problems such as depression (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2007; Perfect et al, 2016). The negative cognitive, attentional, and behavioral effects of trauma influence students’ referral to and qualification for special education, with trauma victims three times more likely to receive special education services than those who are not traumatized (Goodman et al., 2012). This overrepresentation of traumatized youth in special education mirrors the overrepresentation of REM youth, specifically Black, Native American, and Latinx youth in special education. This research is an in-depth analysis of the effects of trauma on school-aged children to inform future research, specifically on the impact on cognitive functioning and internalizing and externalizing behaviors. In addition, the researcher will analyze the impact of demographic factors, including race, ethnicity, and gender, on the child’s experiences to see if similar trends emerge in this smaller data set that emerges nationwide.
Sources of Data
This study used preexisting psychoeducational report data obtained from a university-based diagnostic clinic in Northern California. The psychoeducational assessment reports of 6 school-age students previously evaluated at the clinic with a trauma history were analyzed for cognitive scores, externalizing and internalizing behaviors, and demographic factors. In addition, a case study for each participant was presented to better understand each case holistically.
Conclusions Reached
Across the six profiles analyzed, 50% scored in the very low to below average range on an overall cognitive measure, while the other half of participants scored in the average to very high range. 100% of participants experienced inattention, 66.7% had aggression indicated, 100% had anxiety, and 83.3% were depressed according to parent, teacher, and/or self-report. This suggests that trauma has a significant impact on attention and anxiety. Only a third of the participants were REM youth, but they had the lowest overall cognitive scores and highest rates of aggression, anxiety, and depression.