Date

6-16-2025

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Laura Rolen

Keywords

early childhood trauma, academic, foster care, trauma informed care, behaviors, attachment, peer relationships

Disciplines

Counseling | Social Work

Abstract

Early childhood trauma has a long-lasting impact on individuals’ social interactions, mental health, academic skills, behaviors, and parenting skills for the future generations. Understanding how early interpersonal developmental trauma impacts an individual during adolescence can help providers and caregivers know how to help them become successful students and later adults. Helping individuals early in their development can prevent the cycle of abuse from continuing. Trauma informed care can help bridge the gap between those with and without known traumas. This study consisted of an interpretive phenomenological qualitative design using semi-structured interviews to understand the impact of early trauma on adolescence from the perspective of the adolescent and their caregiver. The study specifically explored the impact of early involvement in foster care. Therefore, 18 adolescents (nine who have been in foster care and nine who have never been in foster care) and their caregivers were interviewed. Some of the identified themes included difficulty with having close friendships, traumatic events as least favorite memories, and caregiver’s perspective being different from child’s perspective. These themes and other data collected show the importance of universal trauma informed care for all individuals, as well as increasing the access to mentors (supportive adults) to help children to learn and experience how a healthy relationship with an adult should look and feel like.

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