By The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Data from the most recent National Survey of Adolescents and other studies indicate
that one in four children and adolescents in the United States experiences at least one
potentially traumatic event before the age of 162, and more than 13% of 17-year-olds—one
in eight—have experienced posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at some point in their
lives.
Most, if not all, of these young people also have access to a wide range of psychoactive
substances that can both dull the effects of stress and place teens at increased risk
of experiencing trauma. It is estimated that 29% of adolescents–nearly one in three–have
experimented with illegal drugs by the time they complete 8th grade, and 41% have
consumed alcohol.4 For many adolescents, such early experimentation eventually progresses
to abuse of—or dependence on—illicit drugs or alcohol. Every year, approximately one in five
American adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 engages in abusive/dependent or
problematic use of illicit drugs or alcohol.
Share This Post!
About the CDC-Kaiser ACE Study
By the Center for Disease Control The CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study is one of the largest investigations of childhood abuse and neglect and later-life health and well-being. The original ACE [...]
How Childhood Abuse Changes the Brain
By Leonard Holmes Studies have demonstrated over and over that childhood abuse and neglect results in permanent changes to the developing human brain. These changes in brain structure appear to be significant [...]
Traumatic Experiences Widespread Among U.S. Youth
By the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Princeton, N.J.—New national data show that at least 38 percent of children in every state have had at least one Adverse Childhood Experience or ACE, such [...]
Childhood Trauma May Shorten Life By 20 Years
By Joseph Brownstein While it may not come as a surprise that survivors of childhood traumas have more difficult lives, a new study says that those children can also expect their [...]
Treating Child Abuse Trauma With EMDR
By Deborah R. Huso EMDR has been successful in treating trauma from childhood abuse in victims and survivors young and old. With more than 3 million instances of child abuse reported [...]
Cardboard Treasure Box
by Shawn Alex Nemeth | In a single night, the twisted culmination of all my childhood fears was magnified tenfold when I heard the blood-curdling screams of my mother and sister end with gun fire. [...]