Trauma, Development, and Spirituality 1
Trauma, Development, and Spirituality Essay
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School of Behavioral Sciences, Liberty University
Author Note
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I have no known conflict of interest to disclose. Correspondence concerning this article should
be addressed to Charles Bryan. Email: ***
Trauma, Development, and Spirituality 2
Trauma, Development, and Spirituality Essay
Trauma can take many forms in our lives. Some traumas can and should be avoided such
as abuse, neglect, or divorce, while others like disease, natural disasters, or death of a family
member are inevitable during the course of one’s life. While resilience and stress resistance can
be fostered and matured throughout the stages of development, trauma may happen before
children are developed enough to employ these skills. Some families or individuals rely on their
spirituality to help them through traumatic events while others view God as an angry father who
allowed the trauma to happen resulting in religion and spirituality being a hindrance for those.
I was shocked by a study reporting 52% of adults in the United States having experienced
what the authors refer to as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) including maltreatment and
other measurements of household disfunction in early childhood. This same study showing the
affects of witnessing abuse and being raised in poverty on toddlers. The study reported negative
behavioral, academic, and even health outcomes as early as 8 years old through their high school
years (McKelvey, Edge, Mesman, Whiteside-Mansell, & Bradley. 2018).
Another study revealed two-thirds of children reported experiencing at least one
traumatic event by the age of 16. This study was specifically measuring the effects of witnessing
a physical assault (usually domestic abuse between parents) on children between the ages of 2
and 5 resulting in symptoms of PTSD in these children Woolgar, Garfield, Dalgeish, Meiser-
Stedman. 2022).
These studies show the effects on children can be varied but severe. One contributing
factor to healthy development across the board in children is the level of support and resilience
developed before, through, and after these traumatic events. Support and resiliency have a large
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affect on how well a child is able to adapt when confronted by by adversity, tragedy, significant
stressors, and trauma (Wong, Hall, & Hernandez. 2021. p. 132). This text discusses a primary
commonality within children exhibiting resiliency is that of having a proactive orientation or
“the ability to take initiative in your life and to believe in your effectiveness” (Wong, et al, 2021.
p. 134). This is exhibited in and further encouraged by parents through high, yet realistic
expectations where this level of resiliency is observed. Other contributing factors are learning to
have positive relationships with peers, having an atmosphere of encouragement where learning,
and positive relationships with teachers amongst many other factors resulting in further resilient
behaviors.
As stated before, some families encouraging spiritual development in their homes
embrace spiritual practices having a positive effect on childhood development and others having
contradictory affects. After reading the article entitled “Resilience in the Aftermath of Childhood
Abuse? Changes in Religiosity and Adulthood Psychological Distress” showing an incredible
amount of variables surrounding what spiritual development even looks like and how it can
contribute or harm goals like “finding meaning, gaining control, gaining comfort from and
closeness to God, finding intimacy with others, and aiding in the search for life transformation”
(Upenieks, 2021). I believe further research could be done to show the difference between
results in families that view God as comforter, counselor, and a good and loving father verses
those who view God as a vengeful, judgmental, or even distant God who allows abuse
(Upenieks, 2021). While we see examples throughout scripture for all of these facets of God’s
character to be true, it takes a mature believer to see even God’s vengeance and judgement as
motivated by His love for and pursuit of His children.
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References
McKelvey, L. M., Edge, N. C., Mesman, G. R., Whiteside-Mansell, L., & Bradley, R. H. (2018).
Adverse experiences in infancy and toddlerhood: Relations to adaptive behavior and
academic status in middle childhood. Child Abuse & Neglect : The International
Journal., 82, 168–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.05.026
Upenieks, L. Resilience in the Aftermath of Childhood Abuse? Changes in Religiosity and
Adulthood Psychological Distress. J Relig Health 60, 2677–2701 (2021).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-020-01155-9
Wong, D.W., Hall, K.R., & Hernandez, L.W. (2021). Counseling individuals through the lifespan
(2nd ed). SAGE Publication.
Woolgar, F., Garfield, H., Dalgeish, T., & Meiser-Stedman, R. (2022). Systematic review and
meta-analysis: Prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder in trauma-exposed preschool-
aged children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry., 61,
366-377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2021.05.026
