Methods Section

Methods Section

Title

1.1 Methods

Research for this article was conducted through the University of Nevada, Reno Knowledge Center database. Key words for the search included childhood trauma, psychological disorders, mental disorders, adolescence, and social behavior. A total of 10 articles were gathered and all articles used were found no later than March 3, 2017 using the following criteria:

• Observational studies on brain activity, social behavior, and factors contributing to psychological disorders
• Peer-reviewed journal articles published within the last 10 years
• Comparisons with individuals who didn’t experience childhood trauma with variations in age of participants

The first section consists of impaired cognitive function due to childhood trauma exposure. Understanding prevalence of psychological disorders and re-victimization requires understanding how the brain is influenced by the trauma, which is why cognitive function is discussed first. The second section focuses more on self-reflection and understanding how individuals with childhood trauma exposure view themselves and how this influences their mental health in adolescence and adulthood. The third section delves into the psychological disorders associated with childhood trauma along with the increased severity of symptoms. The final section is regarding recurrence of childhood trauma among individuals and generations. In order to understand why psychological disorders are common among individuals with childhood trauma exposure and the lifelong impacts, readers will need to understand cognitive function as it connects to every section.