Why Some Soldiers Develop PTSD and Others Don't
February 21, 2013—Pre-war vulnerability is just as important as combat-related trauma in predicting whether veterans’ symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will be long-lasting, according to new research published in Clinical Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
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Life Experiences Put Their Stamp on the next Generation: New Insights from Epigenetics
A review from Biological Psychiatry
Philadelphia, PA, February 14, 2013—There has long been the impression that major life events, like psychological traumas, not only have effects on individuals who directly experience these events, but also have effects on their children. For example, cross-generational effects have been well-documented in the children of Nazi death camp survivors. Similar issues have been reported in the context of mood disorders and addiction. Until recently, these trans-generational effects were attributed to changes in the way that parents treated their children or the child's reaction to learning about the parent's history.
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Embattled Childhoods May Be the Real Trauma for Soldiers with PTSD
APS; November 19, 2012—New research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in soldiers challenges popular assumptions about the origins and trajectory of PTSD, providing evidence that traumatic experiences in childhood—not combat—may predict which soldiers develop the disorder.
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PTSD Linked to Smaller Brain Area Regulating Fear Response
DURHAM, NC; November 5, 2012—Recent combat veterans who are diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder have significantly smaller volume in an area of the brain critical for regulating fear and anxiety responses, according to research led by scientists at Duke University and the Durham VA Medical Center.
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Marriage, Education Can Help Improve Well-Being of Adults Abused as Children
October 16, 2012—Researchers investigating the long-term consequences of child abuse have identified some protective factors that can improve the health of victims during their adulthood.
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The Many Faces of Trauma: Understanding Abused Children
September 20, 2012—Of all its forms, Trauma at the hands of those closest to children and youth is the most difficult to treat. Childhood is a crucial period of brain development, and ultimately it is the human brain that processes and internalizes traumatic experiences. Understanding the organization, function, and development of the human brain and brain-mediated responses to threat are the keys to understanding traumatized children and youth.
Dr. Meredith White-McMahon, Ed.D explains these keys and describes the most common symptoms adult caretakers will see in children who have suffered developmental trauma.
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Healing Children's Trauma: How Parents, Caregivers and Teachers Can Help
September 20, 2012—Trauma and abuse disrupts the normal course of brain development and the potential implications of this for children cannot be ignored. While therapy is required for the child to restore integrated brain functioning, parents and caregivers can also provide support and help to create new experiences that promote new ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Dr. Meredith White-McMahon Ed.D presents some practical tips.
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Childhood Sexual Abuse Linked to Later Heart Attacks in Men
TORONTO, ON; September 6, 2012—Men who experienced childhood sexual abuse are three times more likely to have a heart attack than men who were not sexually abused as children, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Toronto. The researchers found no association between childhood sexual abuse and heart attacks among women.
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Couple's Therapy Appears to Decrease PTSD Symptoms, Improve Relationship
CHICAGO; August 14, 2012—Among couples in which one partner was diagnosed as having posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), participation in disorder-specific couple therapy resulted in decreased PTSD symptom severity and increased patient relationship satisfaction, compared with couples who were placed on a wait list for the therapy, according to a study in the August 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.
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Researchers Find Link Between Childhood Abuse and Age at Menarche
BOSTON; July 27, 2012—Researchers led by Renée Boynton-Jarrett, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at BUSM, found a 49 percent increase in risk for early onset menarche (menstrual periods prior to age 11 years) among women who reported childhood sexual abuse compared to those who were not abused. In addition, there was a 50 percent increase in risk for late onset menarche (menstrual periods after age 15 years) among women who reported severe physical abuse in childhood.
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Study: Children Abused by Parents Face Increased Cancer Risk
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN; July 17, 2012—Frequent abuse by a parent can increase a child's cancer risk in adulthood, and the effects are especially significant when mothers abuse their daughters and fathers abuse their sons, according to new research from Purdue University.
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Middle-Aged Women Survivors of Child Abuse at Increased Risk for Heart Disease, Diabetes
WASHINGTON; July 11, 2012—Middle-aged women who report having been physically abused as children are about two times more likely than other women their age to have high blood pressure, high blood sugar, a larger waistline and poor cholesterol levels, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association.
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Child Abuse Changes the Brain
Dec. 6, 2011—When children have been exposed to family violence, their brains become increasingly "tuned" for processing possible sources of threat, a new study reports. The findings, reported in the December 6th issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, reveal the same pattern of brain activity in these children as seen previously in soldiers exposed to combat.
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Risk of Accelerated Aging Seen in PTSD Patients with Childhood Trauma
April 22, 2011—Adults with post-traumatic stress disorder and a history of childhood trauma had significantly shorter telomere length than those with PTSD but without childhood trauma, in a study by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.
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