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.