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Essay / Childhood trauma and freshmen
Table of contentsMethodResultsDiscussionWorks cited:Arnekrans et al. (2018) state that childhood trauma is also known as developmental trauma and this refers to many stressful experiences during a child's development. Many of these stressful experiences include divorce, domestic violence, parental substance abuse, and physical, psychological, or sexual abuse. These traumatic experiences cause children to feel neglected by trusted adults, leading them to develop problems that can affect their adult lives from a young age. As a result, many of these traumas have negative consequences and lead to substance use and poor academic performance (Arnekrans et al., 2018). Arnekrans et al. (2018) was done on a freshman simply because this time in a young adult’s life is crucial in shaping who they will become. Having to do everything on your own for the first time is definitely a challenge for first-year students, especially those with a history of developmental trauma. Statistics show that those who earn a bachelor's degree are expected to have exceptional health compared to those who only earn a high school diploma. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay These statistics support the conclusion that children who experience developmental trauma are more likely to turn to substance abuse and get drug addiction. poor academic performance. Arnekrans et al. , (2018) found that students who suffer from childhood trauma are at higher risk of developing substance use disorders. It is common for survivors of neglect to turn to substance use as a coping behavior. Fortunately, some students are able to develop resilience, which simply means that they are able to recover from difficulties (Arnekrans et al. , 2018). Some of this recovery involves counseling and therapy, which reflects positive adaptation from a negative experience. Specifically, in this study, resilience processes and approaches were considered to better expand and understand why some individuals with developmental trauma are able to endure the complications they may face in adulthood. To demonstrate the connection to developmental trauma and its effects on freshmen, the study examines the extent to which traumatic childhood experiences are common among freshmen. College freshmen were the center of attention simply because it is a crucial stage in a young adult's life to determine how childhood experiences can be reflected in your adult life. Arnekrans et al. (2018) inferred that there was a clear difference in grade point average, drug and alcohol dependence, and resilience among freshmen who experienced childhood trauma compared to those who have not suffered any during their life. Method Arnekrans et al. (2018), participants included 169 students enrolled in a first-year orientation course at a highly populated Midwestern university. The majority of participants were male, the remainder of the participants were female, and one identified as transgender, whose ages ranged from 18 to 49 years with an average age of 18 years. 73.A large majority identified as being of European American descent, 55 participants identified as African American, 10 identified as Hispanic, nine identified as mixed/biracial, one identified as Asian American, and two identified as other. In order to conduct the actual research, they used scales to measure substance use, traumatic experiences, and resilience (Arnekrans et al., 2018).Arnekrans et al. (2018) used an instrument called the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-3. This instrument is used to screen for the presence of substance abuse or disorders. The SASSI-3 consists of 67 true/false questions that compromise symptoms of the overt and subtle attributes, defensiveness, additional dependency, family versus control, correctional, and random response scales. On the back of the instrument, it has two subscales, the 12 items face valid alcohol and the 14 items face other valid drugs. The SASSI-3 is very accurate and sensitive, so false information is not a problem. From this instrument, Arnekrans et al. (2018) converted the scores of the two subscales into T-scores to better combine the male and female groups. A demographic questionnaire was used to collect data on each participant's age, gender, and ethnicity (Arnekrans. , 2018). Participants were also asked to answer questions about potential traumatic experiences from their childhood. The questions were gathered from a review of the developmental trauma literature and were created into a trauma-risk correlation list. Some of the common correlations with traumatic experiences were parental divorce, employment problems, legal, medical and mental problems, alcohol or drug addiction, and emotional, physical or sexual abuse. Participants were then asked to rate the impact as follows: no negative impact, moderate negative impact, or significant negative impact (Arnekrans et al., 2018). A Resilience Scale measures the construct of resilience and is a 25-item scale rated on a 7-point Likert scale measuring two factors: personal competence and acceptance of self and life (Arnekrans et al., 2018 ). On this scale, scores can range from 25 to 175, and scores above 145 indicate moderately high to high resilience. Before the actual study was carried out, the scale was tested and resulted in an average of. 85 consistency. Ego resilience is an individual's ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. An ego resilience scale consists of 14 items on a 4-point Likert-type scale and scores range from 14 to 56. The higher the score, the higher the individual's level of resilience. The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale is a brief self-report used to quantify resilience and assess response to treatment. The CD-RISC contains 25 items that assess how a person has felt over the past month on a 5-point Likert scale. Scores range from zero to 100, and higher scores reflect greater resilience (Arnekrans et al., 2018). Arnekrans et al. (2018) was approved by the institutional review board of the sponsoring university. Permission was sought from 25 first-year orientation course instructors to use class time to recruit participants. However, only 19 of the 25 received approval to authorize this study. A research packet was provided to each participant and included each scale and questionnaire mentioned above, as well as.