Synthesis Proposal

Categories

• Self
• Kaplan (2006)
• Tanaka (2011)
• Catalan (2017)
• Cognitive function
• Majer (2010)
• Kaplan (2006)
• Aas (2016)
• Psychological disorders
• Ballard (2015)
• Watson (2013)
• Etain (2013)
• Aas (2016)
• Catalan (2017)
• Re-occurrence
• Wearick-Silva (2014)
• Catalan (2017)

Order

1. Cognitive function

My research question directly involves how cognitive function is effected by having experienced trauma in childhood. By starting the results section with cognitive function, it will allow for better understanding of how self-reflection and psychological disorders are altered.

1.1 Space Creating (Kaplan)

Interviews were used to figure out the way brains function in those who have experienced childhood trauma (specifically genocide). The concept of space creating is important because it describes a specific action for these individuals. The article also touches on how this influences memory and response in adulthood which will set the stage for the next section.

~2 paragraphs

1.2 Memory (Majer)

This article found how childhood trauma impacts memory in adulthood. An important cognitive function is being altered by this experience which has been introduced by the previous subheading.

~1-2 paragraphs

1.3 Slower progression rate (Aas)

Now that readers are aware with cognitive function being an issue in individuals who experienced childhood trauma, I can bring up how cognitive function is connected to psychological disorders. In doing this I will not only demonstrate the connection, I will also be setting the stage for when psychological disorders are discussed. This article mentions how individuals who have experienced CT are more likely to have a slowed progression rate with psychotic episodes.

~2 paragraphs

2. Self

Knowing that childhood trauma impacts cognitive development, the reader can have a better understanding of why these individuals have a poorer view of themselves when compared to others. Understanding that these individuals know they are being affected by their experiences and understanding how is crucial to understanding why they are being impacted in this manner. Understanding how they view themselves also provides an insight to any possible psychological disorders.

2.1 Poorer model-of-self (Tanaka)

This article reviewed questionnaires given to teens who had experienced childhood trauma to see what kind of self-esteem they have as well as to understand how they view themselves.
~2 paragraphs

2.2 Influenced responses to objects and memories (Kaplan)

This article explains how it was commonly found that the individuals interviewed responded to certain situations in a poor manner because of a memory about their traumatic experience and many times they are not able to make that connection on their own because they tend to block out those memories. It isn't until they are asked about specific memories that they are able to make the connections to their reactions and many times the situations they are reacting to in response to their experiences are fairly innocent, such as pregnancy. Understaning the cognitive aspect of the reactions and knowing the event and reactions allows for others to help work on this as well as to understand why they are reacting in this particular manner.
~2-3 paragraphs

2.3 Catalan (maybe)

3. Psychological disorders

3.1 Classes of childhood trauma as predictors (Ballard)
Classes of childhood traumatic experiences predict specific psychiatric and behavioral outcomes in adolescence and young adulthood. The long-term effects of childhood traumas are primarily concentrated in victims of sexual and non-sexual violence
~2 paragraphs

3.2 Bipolar disorder (Watson and Etain)

Both article deal with the severity of clinical symptoms along with the associations found between certain psychological disorders and certain types of childhood trauma.
~4 paragraphs

3.3 Severity of symptoms (Aas)

This article did not necessarily find that those who had experienced childhood trauma are more likely to experience psychotic episodes, but rather that those who had experienced much more severe characteristics during their first year. This article demonstrates that the various influences of childhood trauma can increase the severity of their psychological disorders, a large portion probably due to the cognitive development.
~1-2 paragraphs

3.4 Environmental influences (Catalan)

This article can be used in this section because it discusses how different parenting styles influence the psychological symptoms experienced in adulthood. The environment these individuals are surrounded by impact the severity of any possible psychological disorders, it is not just the traumatic event.
~2 paragrpahs

4. Re-occurrence

Re-occurrence should be last because I think the initial event should be explained first along with the consequences/impacts as the individual ages.  I want the paper to follow aging/life stages and then mention things that could occur somewhere in between.

4.1 Environmental influences on psychotic symptoms (Catalan)

This article looks at how different parenting styles along with childhood trauma influences the type and severity of psychotic symptoms in adulthood. I can use this article to point out how individuals who experienced childhood trauma may reflect the same parenting style with their possible children, leading to re-occurrence.

~1-2 paragraphs

4.2 Sexual abuse re-occurrence (Wearick-Silva)

This article looks at the chances of sexual abuse having occurred in mothers of children who had been sexually abused. This article directly looks into the chances of re-occurrence within families and generations. This article also connects with the Catalan article about environmental influences.

~2-3 paragraphs

In class work 2/22

Research Journal 3

What is your research question? Have you decided to change it at all? And, if you have, how do I know that the way in which this question is formulated is appropriate to conduct a literature review with a systematic approach? 

Current Research Question: What psychological and mental disorders are associated with adolescents and adults who have experienced childhood trauma and what cognitive limitations are they more likely to experience?
Old Research Question: How does having experienced trauma during childhood influence the development of the brain with age and what differences can be seen in the processing and reaction to specific tasks and situations? Are individuals who have experienced childhood trauma more likely to develop social or emotional disorders and if so what disorders are most likely to occur?

How do I know that the remit of the method itself is selecting the research, rather than just you on a whim? + 1 thing you found interesting + how you imagine using the source 

Article #1 (interviews; secondary source) 

Kaplan, S. (2006). Children in genocide Extreme traumatization and the 'affect propeller' International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 87(3), 725-746. doi:10.1516/9c86-h1rg-k3ff-drah

This article is directly relevant to my topic and my research question because individuals that had experienced childhood trauma were interviewed. Then, these interviews were used to gather information on the way these individuals processed and stored these memories which impacts the way they respond to their actual environment and thus the cognitive processing of these reactions. In this article Kaplan describes a concept called space creating which is a technique many individuals as a coping method for dealing with the trauma both during and after. The concept of space creating can be used in the results section of my research paper because I am interested in finding how childhood trauma influences cognitive function and influences mental disorders and this article explains how space creating allowed for these individuals to essentially see and "live" in an imaginary world. This imaginary world, place, or person can continue to serve as an escape from reality even later in adulthood which can trigger bad memories from the trauma or even cause the individual to be unable to recall such event information.

Article #2 (research study)

Majer, M., Nater, U. M., Lin, J. S., Capuron, L., & Reeves, W. C. (2010). Association of childhood trauma with cognitive function in healthy adults: a pilot study. BMC Neurology, 10(1). doi:10.1186/1471-2377-10-61

This article is directly relevant to my research topic and question because it discusses how their study found that adults who had experienced childhood trauma had slightly altered brain development over the years possibly due to the levels of certain hormones in their bodies. The article also found that these individuals had worse memories than individuals who had not experienced trauma after having them perform several memory tests. Since this article discusses how trauma impacts the physical development of the brain and because it found an association between memory issues and childhood trauma, I think I would be able to use this in my research paper because it demonstrates less cognitive ability and a higher risk for mental disorders in adulthood for individuals who experienced childhood trauma. I also like that the article mentioned that although none of their subjects had been diagnosed with a psychological disorder, they still found evidence of anxiety and depression during their tests. This to me shows that even if individuals who experienced trauma early in life are not diagnosed with a disorder, they will still experience symptoms that can alter their behavior and cognitive function. 

Article #3 (participatory action research)

Ballard, E. D., Eck, K. V., Musci, R. J., Hart, S. R., Storr, C. L., Breslau, N., & Wilcox, H. C.(2015). Latent classes of childhood trauma exposure predict the development of behavioral health outcomes in adolescence and young adulthood. Psychological Medicine, 45(15), 3305-3316. doi:10.1017/s0033291715001300

This article directly relates to my research topic because it is a study that interviewed and questioned individuals that had experienced different types of childhood trauma once they had entered young adulthood to see how the trauma influenced their psychological health. This study found many similarities of symptoms and signs of diagnosis within the group of individuals that had experienced the same form of childhood trauma. Those who experienced sexual trauma had similar characteristics and risks, those who experienced abuse had similar psychological characteristics and risks, etc. I will be able to use this article in my research paper to explain how individuals that experienced childhood trauma are not only more likely to experience symptoms and diagnosis of multiple psychological disorders, but there are specific psychological disorders associated or common to the type of childhood trauma. What I like about this article is that it was able to find some associations between a disorder like PTSD and a childhood trauma such as sexual abuse. This article helps me answer my research question directly and I think it helps lead me in a productive way.

Article #4 (longitudinal study research)

Tanaka, M., Wekerle, C., Schmuck, M. L., & Paglia-Boak, A. (2011). The linkages among childhood maltreatment, adolescent mental health, and self-compassion in child welfare adolescents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 35(10), 887-898. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2011.07.003

This article directly relates to my research topic and helps me answer my research question because it is a study that looks into the impacts of childhood trauma on self-reflection as well as self-dysfunction, which can lead to psychological disorders in adulthood. This article does specifically focus on individuals that had experienced childhood trauma whose family had also been in the welfare system at the time which does mean the results could be a bit more specific but I think it will still be able to contribute a good portion to my paper because many individuals that experienced childhood trauma have come from low SES families. In this article it is discussed how these specific individuals are more likely to have a psychological disorder in adulthood as a result of the low self-esteem and self-confidence of the individual as a result of the trauma. This article explains how 1/4 to 1/2 of the individuals found in psychiatric homes and diagnosed with psychological disorders had experienced childhood trauma and for me this is what I am looking for. The reason I chose this topic is because I think the relationship between childhood trauma and psychological disorders in adulthood gets ignored.

Article #5 (research; interview-based, qualitative)

Browne, C., & Winkelman, C. (2007). The Effect of Childhood Trauma on Later Psychological Adjustment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22(6), 684-697. doi:10.1177/0886260507300207

This article relates directly to my research topic and research question as well as the previous article. This is the second article I have found that has found an association between childhood trauma and a poor mode-of-self. This article is similar to the previous one in that young adults were given questionnaires on their childhood trauma and how they view themselves. The article found that individuals who experienced trauma in childhood missed a large portion of development in terms of being able to form attachments with others and deal with their thoughts and emotions properly. Due to this missed development, these individuals are more likely to have a poor mode-of-self which leads to psychological disorders. Combined with the previous article, I will be able to use both in my paper to help answer my research question which involves explaining what cognitive functions are impacted and whether these individuals are more likely to develop psychological disorders.

Anything else interesting happen? 

I definitely feel I am on a much better track now that my research question is a little more focused. The more I look for articles the more difficult it can be to not find repetitive information in terms of being able to use various articles with different information to add.

Synthesis Matrix/Crtical Appraisal

Synthesis Matrix/Critical Appraisal

Author/Date	Aim of Study	Type of literature + type of method	Result /Conclusion	Strengths + limitations	Thematic codings	Setting/ Context
Kaplan, 2006	Extensive research concerning children in genocide starting with those in the Holocaust and in the genocide in Rwanda 1994 to find indicators for psychological phenomena concerning the child survivors’ affect regulating that appeared in life histories presented in interviews	interviews; secondary source	Past traumatic experiences are recovered as affects invading the present. Accordingly, affects seem to tell the story of the past traumatic experiences through their version of collecting the memories	The strength of this article is that it presents concept of space creating and other ways individuals mentally deal with their childhood trauma at the time it occurs. Different life experiences were linked back to the trauma, influenced decisions in adulthood. Since the individuals interviewed were older their memories may not be as accurate.	Psychological development Memories Genocide Space creating Inner psychic world and outer world	Interviews Survivors Sweden Learning through observation and finding similarities
Majer, Nater, Lin, Capuron, & Reeves, 2010	To test if stress experienced early in life has consequences on brain development, such as cognitive function because it can lead to psychological disorders.	research study, pilot study	Our results suggest that physical neglect and emotional abuse might be associated with memory deficits in adulthood, which in turn might pose a risk factor for the development of psychopathology.	A strength and limitation is that the individuals in the study were not necessarily diagnosed with a psychological disorder, but presented symptoms. A limitation is that it is a pilot study, so more research has to be done to support that these types of trauma negatively impacts memory in adulthood. Another limitation is that the study was only done with 47 participants and that isn't necessarily a large enough group to set the findings in stone. One strength is that cognitive function was evaluated and the study did find an indication that childhood trauma doesn't just pose a risk for psychological disorders but also decreased cognitive function.	Cognitive function Psychological disorders Impacts on adulthood Memory	Questionnaires Small group Wichita, KS
Ballard, Eck, Musci, Hart, Storr, et.al, 2015	To determine a correlation between childhood trauma in an urban community sample and to predict the development of negative behavioral outcomes in adolescence and young adulthood	participatory action research, epidemiologically based	Classes of childhood traumatic experiences predict specific psychiatric and behavioral outcomes in adolescence and young adulthood. The long-term effects of childhood traumas are primarily concentrated in victims of sexual and non-sexual violence	One strength is that the participants were evaluated in adolescence and young adulthood so they were able to see how the trauma influenced a large part of their development. The study was able to show that trauma in childhood impacts individuals for the rest of their lives, it doesn't just influence the time surrounding the actual event. Another strength is some psychological disorders were more associated with a specific type of trauma and even gender. The gender could be a limitation because it doesn't really tell me the overall rate of a disorder, just the rate for each gender.	Negative behavior outcomes Psychiatric conditions Effects of childhood trauma in adulthood	Comprehensive psychiatric assessments as young adults Questionnaires Urban community Low SES Large number of participants
Tanaka, Wekerle, Schmuck, & Paglia-Boak, 2011	This study examined the relationship between childhood maltreatment and self-compassion because it could help understand what stage(s) of development may have been impacted and how this impacts adulthood.	longitudinal study research	Higher childhood trauma was associated with lower self-compassion, especially emotional abuse. Youths with low self-compassion were more likely to have psychological distress, problem drug use, and serious suicide attempt. A number of maltreatment-related areas of impairment were significantly associated with lower self-compassion.	One strength is that a new way of measuring the impacts of childhood trauma was considered which, is self-compassion. Knowing how the victims view themselves in adulthood as a result of their experience(s) allows for better understanding of the impact of childhood emotional abuse on adolescent functioning. The article addressed the limitation being lack of research on those receiving child protective services.	Childhood maltreatment Adolescents Child welfare Mental health Substance use problems Self-compassion	Canada Urban setting Randomized questioning over period of time Questionnaires
Browne & Winkelman, 2007		research; interview-based, qualitative
Watson, Gallagher, Dougall, Porter, et.al, 2013	This study compared the rates of childhood trauma in adults with bipolar disorder to a healthy control group. The study also wanted to investigate the impact of childhood trauma on the clinical course of bipolar disorder.		Significantly higher rates of childhood trauma were observed in patients with bipolar I and bipolar II disorder compared to the control groups. Childhood emotional neglect was found to be significantly associated with bipolar disorder.	Limitations include the small sample size and how it potentially increases the risk of type II errors. This study needs to be replicated with further investigation into the neurobiological consequences of childhood trauma, particularly emotional neglect.	Childhood trauma Emotional neglect Bipolar disorder Depression	North-east England New Zealand Small sample size Questionnaires
Etain, Aas, Andreassen, Lorentzen, et.al, 2013	This study aimed to look at the environmental influences on the development of bipolar disorder besides looking at genetics.		Earlier onset of bipolar illness, suicide attempts and depression were significantly associated with specific types of childhood trauma. More women had experienced childhood trauma and more associations with psychological disorders.	One strength of this article is that they were able to find associations between subtype of childhood trauma and psychological disorders besides bipolar disorder. Another strength is that the sample size was so big because it meant their findings would be more concrete and consistent with the actual representation of those who did not participate. The study also found that having experienced childhood trauma heightened the symptoms for those with bipolar disorder, which demonstrates the level of cognitive influence it has.	Childhood trauma Bipolar disorder Environmental influences Clinical characteristics	France Norway Questionnaire DSM-IV Large sample size
Wearick-Silva, Tractenberg, Levandowski, Viola, et.al, 2014	The study wanted to look into the recurrent exposure of childhood sexual abuse, seeing if children who had been sexually abused were more likely to have mothers who had been sexually abused as a child.		The study found that women who had been sexually abused as children were more likely to have children who would be sexually abused as well.	One strength about this article is that it explored the idea of childhood trauma victimization continuing through generations rather than looking at a single generation. One limitation is that the sample size is fairly small and would need to be done again in a larger setting. Another limitation for my use is that it doesn’t look at the cognitive aspect of childhood trauma, it only looks at the environment and factors influencing the chances of offspring having the same or similar experience.	Child sexual abuse Sexual abuse Family violence Intergenerational relations Reoccurrence	Brazil Small sample size Questionnaire Young families
Aas, Andreassen, Aminoff, Faerden, et.al, 2016	The aim of this study was to investigate whether childhood trauma was associated with more severe clinical features in patients with first-episode psychosis at initial assessment and after 1 year	Longitudinal study	Patients with first-episode psychosis who experienced childhood trauma have a subgroup characterized by more severe clinical features over the first year of treatment, and slower improvement rates.	One strength of this article is that if found individuals who had not only experienced an episode, had also experienced childhood trauma. Another strength is that there was an association found between improvement rates and childhood trauma. Another strength is that this article can be tied to another article I am using which allows me to use both articles to demonstrate the cognitive and psychological impacts on the chances and severity of developed psychological disorders, like bipolar disorder.	Psychotic episode Improvement rates Childhood trauma Psychological disorders	Large sample size Questionnaires 4 major hospitals in Oslo
Catalan,Angosot, Diaz, Valverde, et.al, 2017	This study aimed to find the relationship between different types of parental care, trauma in childhood and psychotic symptoms in adulthood.			One limitation is that it is still unclear if the association is more related to psychotic disorders or to a cluster of symptoms.	Childhood trauma Psychosis Parenting rearing style Severe mental disorder	Spain Spanish speaking participants Medium sample size

Explaining my Project

Research Journal #2

What is your topic? Or what are your key words thus far?

childhood trauma
social development
psychological disorders
mental disorders
adolescence
PTSD
social behavior

What is your research question? Have you decided to change it at all? And, if you have, how do I know that the way in which this question is formulated is appropriate to conduct a literature review with a systematic approach? 

Current Research Question: What psychological and mental disorders are associated with adolescents and adults who have experienced childhood trauma and what cognitive limitations are they more likely to experience?

Old Research Question: How does having experienced trauma during childhood influence the development of the brain with age and what differences can be seen in the processing and reaction to specific tasks and situations? Are individuals who have experienced childhood trauma more likely to develop social or emotional disorders and if so what disorders are most likely to occur?

And what are the definitions on which it depends?

• Mental disorder: disorders that impact mood, thinking, and behavior. Ex: depression, anxiety, addiction, eating disorders, etc.
• Psychological disorder: a disorder that involves thoughts, behaviors, and emotions that causes individuals distress. This can impact the ability to function daily and have a healthy social life. 
• Childhood trauma: traumatic experiences that occur to individuals between the age of 0-6. Ex: sexual abuse, physical abuse, natural disasters, accidents, war, etc.
• Cognitive limitation: relating to the mental processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning, as contrasted with emotional and volitional processes.
• Association: a connection between two or more things

What is your hierarchy of evidence? And how do I know you going about finding the most appropriate evidence/method for your research question?

Cohort studies
Case control studies
Mental disorder association
Expert opinion

How do I know that the remit of the method itself is selecting the research, rather than just you on a whim? + 1 thing you found interesting + how you imagine using the source

Anything else interesting happen?

Find a way to maybe incorporate the type of research I am using in my research question. Not sure if my research question is completely on the right track even though I feel like my actual research is. Maybe look into how children that have seen the impacts of war have been affected.

In class activity 2/6-2/8

Article 1

1. Boeije, H., Slagt, M., & Wesel, F. V. (2013). The Contribution of Mixed Methods Research to the Field of Childhood Trauma. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 7(4), 347-369. doi:10.1177/1558689813482756
2. Mixed methods 
3. The authors use mixed methods when researching childhood trauma by making sure there is a qualitative and quantitative aspect to ensure efficiency. Using mixed methods for childhood trauma enables them to build and validate theories along with being able to develop and evaluate intervention methods for treating traumatized children.
4. This particular article discusses the use of mixed methods as well as the effectiveness of using mixed methods more than actually applying it. This article explains and looks into what it is being used for and how helpful it is when dealing with childhood trauma.
5. One interesting thing I found from this article was how helpful and useful it can be to use mixed methods when studying childhood trauma but it can also be sort of pointless if not done appropriately. I did not know how important it was to have both qualitative and quantitative aspects in order to be able to connect with the individuals and gather accurate information. There are multiple uses for mixed methods which can involve treatment evaluation as well as the actual impacts of childhood trauma.

Article 2

1. Lilly, M. M., London, M. J., & Bridgett, D. J. (2014). Using SEM to examine emotion regulation and revictimization in predicting PTSD symptoms among childhood abuse survivors. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 6(6), 644-651. doi:10.1037/a0036460 
2. Policy
3. In this article a study was conducted to try and find any possible correlation between childhood trauma and similar abuse in adulthood with intimate relationships. The study was also done to find the occurrence or risk of PTSD in adults who experienced childhood trauma. The article ties in the use of policy based on the results of the study which demonstrated high correlations between abuse and trauma from childhood into adulthood.
4. The study found that adults who had experienced childhood trauma had poorer emotion regulation, increased PTSD, and had high rates of re-victimization in adulthood.
5. I found it interesting that the study was able to find that adults who experienced childhood trauma and maltreatment were actually more likely and did experience similar mark treatment as adults. This helps answer my research question about how experiencing trauma in childhood impacts that individual several life stages later.

Article 3

1. Tanaka, M., Wekerle, C., Schmuck, M. L., & Paglia-Boak, A. (2011). The linkages among childhood maltreatment, adolescent mental health, and self-compassion in child welfare adolescents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 35(10), 887-898. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2011.07.003 
2. Participatory action research
3. By using participatory action research, they were able to give out questionnaires from those who had experienced childhood trauma first hand. The researchers did not need to go out and observe the individuals or do brain scans, they were able to get an inside look at how these individuals view themselves as a result of the trauma they experienced. This type of research allowed for the study to gather more personal information.
4. This study found that the vast majority of the young individuals who filled out questionnaires on how they viewed themselves had very low self esteems and self confidence. When they were given the same questionnaire a couple years later, many of the original results remained because it was more likely for these children to lack a positive adult figure in their life. This study confirmed that childhood trauma plays an extremely influential role in the chances of succeeding later in life because bad habits have already been started at a very young age.
5. What I found interesting was that this article and study looked at personal reflection of children who had experienced childhood trauma and how that changed, if at all, over the next couple of years. Typically with childhood trauma, studies are done on observable characteristics and actions but this study attempted to understand or see what the children who have experienced the trauma view themselves.

Article 4

1. Kaplan, S. (2006). Children in genocide Extreme traumatization and the 'affect propeller' International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 87(3), 725-746. doi:10.1516/9c86-h1rg-k3ff-drah
2. Grounded Theory
3. Grounded theory is used for qualitative research where data is obtained through interviews, observations, and then use this information to formulate a theory. In this article grounded theory was used because it was the best way for the author to form the relationship between concepts and theories about social and psychological processes. She wanted to find out more about the psychological effects of childhood trauma and how it impacts the ability to live throughout the remainder of their lives. By using grounded theory she was able to interview individuals that had gone through extreme childhood trauma in times of genocide and was able to observe how certain objects trigger certain emotions or thoughts based on the trauma experienced in childhood.
4. This article found that many individuals that had experienced the childhood trauma due to genocide had put these memories in an isolated area of the brain and were essentially responding and acting in the time they had created in their mind, ignoring their external environment. It is like these individuals were living in some inner world and would sometimes react or respond to certain actions or surroundings due to the trauma they had experienced but may not necessarily know that's the reason why, the memories are "forgotten". 
5. One thing I found interesting from this article was that Kaplan decided to interview individuals on the trauma experienced during childhood. In order for her to truly understand the impacts it has on adult life she had to get details on the event, essentially having the individuals she interviewed relive the trauma. Doing this could have been a setback for the individual because if they had not been able to find a way to cope with the trauma it could have set them into a panic attack or another form of extreme discomfort. At the same time I understand how crucial it was for her to have details on the event(s) because this is what gave her the opportunity to find what makes these individuals tick and what sets them back into this horrible mindset.

Research Journal #1

What was the process by which you narrowed down potential topics to two appropriate ones? 
And how were these decisions made on the basis of either class discussion, or our required, course textbook (Aveyard 2014), or both?

I wanted to look into a health topic that does not get as much attention in the media but that is very important. I also wanted to choose a topic that spans the majority of life stages versus one or two. I decided to look into childhood trauma and how this influences brain development as well as social behavior rather than PTSD in veterans because I thought it would be easier to narrow down a question as well as articles. Going into the impacts of childhood trauma would allow me to focus more on one track rather than going in multiple directions.

What research question did you choose, and how can I be sure you're making a reasoned, academic judgement on the basis of chapters 1-3 (Aveyard 2014)? 

Research Question: How does having experienced trauma during childhood influence the development of the brain with age and what differences can be seen in the processing and reaction to specific tasks and situations? Are individuals who have experienced childhood trauma more likely to develop social or emotional disorders and if so what disorders are most likely to occur? 

What article (or articles) are you basing this question on, and what type of article is it (research, theory, policy, practice) (citation[s] in APA, please)? 

 The two images on the left are from the article “The Biological Effects of Childhood Trauma” which discusses how experiencing trauma in childhood increases the risks of social and mental disorders. The article also discusses how childhood trauma changes the way the brain responds to situations as well as the physical development with age.
This article references different studies done on humans of various ages as well as animals to observe the way their brains respond to situations as well as their normal or average concentration of various hormones.

De Bellis, MD, MPH, M. D., & Zisk A.B., A. (2014). “The Biological Effects of Childhood Trauma”. National Institutes of Health, 1-39. doi:10.1016/j.chc.2014.01.002.



Another article I used is "Association of childhood trauma with cognitive function in healthy adults: a pilot study". This article is a research article that compares how different tasks of the brain are impacted in adulthood having experienced childhood trauma. Adults who had experienced childhood trauma filled out questionnaires and their results demonstrate increased risk/rate of depression and anxiety among other things.

Majer, M., Nater, U. M., Lin, J. S., Capuron, L., & Reeves, W. C. (2010). Association of childhood trauma with cognitive function in healthy adults: a pilot study. BMC Neurology, 10(1). doi:10.1186/1471-2377-10-61

How can I be sure that the key vocabulary of the question corresponds not only to literature in the field, but also to chapter 1-3 (Aveyard 2014)? 

With my research topic I was able to find that studies would be most beneficial because most of understanding the impacts of childhood trauma is through observation. Questionnaires can be completed, individuals can be tested and observed on their reactions to different situations, brain scans can be conducted, etc. but you can't force someone to experience childhood trauma and compare the before and after. Research articles are going to benefit me the most because they study to answer similar questions I am hoping to find an answer to.

Based on what your question is, what kind of literature are you going to need? Again, please explicitly reference the text (Aveyard 2014). What is your hierarchy of evidence? 

In the order of most to least importance going downward (cf. pg. 70 Aveyard): 

• Observational studies
• Studies observing the brain (scans and/or physical size proportions)
• Expert opinion
• Comparisons with those who didn't experience childhood trauma
• Variation in ages studied

How exactly did you research question arise out of "practice"? 
How do you define your key terms, and how do these definitions link to key journals in the field?

childhood trauma AND brain development
childhood trauma AND brain development AND adolescence
brain development
adolescence
adolescence AND PTSD
teen
adulthood
depression
Michael D. De Bellis
cohort study

Did anything unexpected happen? From you initial search, does it appear as though your research question will work? Or does the vocabulary and/or type of research sought need to be changed? 

When searching for articles I was surprised to see how low the number of articles that initially displayed was compared to typical topics and I was also surprised to find multiple articles that had been cited around 45-70 times. So far it seems that my initial research question will work with the articles I have been finding because the topic is so specific to begin with that most of the research that has been done deals with brain development and social behavior influenced by experiencing childhood trauma. 

Any final thoughts? 

I might need to make a few changes to my research questions depending on the information I continue to gather with future articles. Still trying to figure out evidence hierarchy.