DEVELOPMENTAL TRAUMA
Developmental trauma refers to the profound and lasting effects of chronic adverse experiences during childhood, impacting emotional regulation, mental health and interpersonal relationships. The term encompasses prolonged, repeated or severe traumatic experiences occurring during critical early developmental periods, particularly in infancy, childhood or adolescence. Unlike single-event trauma, developmental trauma is often interpersonal, involving caregivers or trusted individuals responsible for nurturing and safety. Examples include chronic neglect, emotional abuse, physical maltreatment, abandonment and systemic familial dysfunction, such as parental conflict or addiction.
Children who enter the care system or who require kinship care have generally experienced developmental trauma, sometimes from birth until they were taken into care. Their experience in care, which may have involved repeated moves, may have exacerbated that trauma.
For more information about developmental trauma:
https://attachmenttraumanetwork.org/developmental-trauma-disorder
These are examples of the many videos on developmental or childhood trauma available on YouTube:
When caregivers are consistently responsive to children’s emotional and physical needs, children develop a secure attachment. They grow up to be comfortable with intimacy and independence, trust others, manage conflicts effectively and maintain healthy boundaries. Developmental trauma leads to long-term attachment difficulties, as the child has been unable to establish a secure attachment during critical developmental phases. Their attachment style is likely to be affected by their particular experiences and whether they had any reliable care before or after they experienced the trauma.
Inconsistent caregiving gives rise to an anxious, or preoccupied, attachment style, where the child craves closeness but fears rejection. Such children may become overly dependent, experience intense worry about abandonment and struggle with self-esteem. They may be fearful about engaging with new experiences for fear of failure.
Those with an avoidant, or dismissive, attachment style may be precociously independent and self-sufficient in order to avoid being vulnerable. They may suppress emotions and struggle with emotional intimacy, appearing detached. This is usually because their caregivers were emotionally unavailable or rejecting.
Where the caregiver is inconsistent but also sometimes frightening, the child is unable to establish a consistent approach to having their needs met, and so they swing between anxiously approaching and fearfully avoiding the caregiver. This disorganised attachment style can make these children the most chaotic and destructive, and the most difficult to accommodate in a school and in a family, due to their unpredictable and conflicted behaviours in relationships. These children continue to desire closeness but to fear it, leading to sometimes bizarre and incomprehensible behaviour, including aggression and violence. Feelings of vulnerability can lead to high-risk and controlling behaviour, and put the security of the child and family at risk, leading to the involvement of other services.
All these young people and their families need consistent and reliable support from well-trained and knowledgeable professionals. They need people to stick with them and not turn away. ATTACH-Manchester’s provision is bespoke. We don’t say, ‘This is what we’ve got. Do you want it?’ We ask what you need and do our best to create something that can work alongside you and which is flexible so that, as circumstances may change, the provision can adapt.