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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

David H. Skuse*
Affiliation:
Behavioural and Brain Sciences Unit, Institute of Child Health, London WC1 1EH, UK, email d.skuse@ich.ucl.ac.uk
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Abstract

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Trauma can have both acute and insidious effects upon children's mental health. We present four articles, each of which offers a new perspective on this important topic. As Daniel Pine points out, in the first paper, as many as one in five children in the developed world can expect to experience a truly traumatic event, while half those in developing countries may do so. Such experiences can be either personal – such as emotional or sexual abuse – or impersonal – being shot or blown up in a conflict of which one understands little, except the misery it brings. How do children cope? We know that there are at least two important influences that moderate the impact of trauma on the developing child: the persistence and severity of the experience, and the degree of social support available. Beyond these broad generalisations, little is understood about what should be done or what could be done to minimise the long-term consequences of growing up in an environment characterised by cruelty, exploitation and death.

Type
Thematic Papers – Trauma and the Mental Health of Children
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits noncommercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2003
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