Success Despite Childhood Trauma:
A Research Paper
written by: Jessi Gold
Bone-chilling anguish: a result of childhood trauma, it is an experience that stays with one forever. In fact, Harvard University has found that child abuse and neglect alter the brain chemistry in children with an irreversible effect. The change in child behavior from the irreversible damage of childhood trauma and abuse lasts forever, but it is the lessons learned from the rubble that make a difference. The wisdom gained from traumatic experiences in childhood teaches vastly important lessons, such as grit and perseverance, but more importantly, how to heal. Recent trauma research shows that the effects of abuse and trauma have essential positive impacts on the outcomes of young individuals, such as strengthened resilience and increased personal growth.
Resilience is developed through the perseverance of adversity, including abuse and neglect. The ability to endure and recover from trauma is the growth of resilience. Resilience appears in cases such as child neglect, which mirrors the strength a child gains to survive. Increased resilience and strength guide survivors to growth during recovery. Dr. Jessica Keith, a veteran psychologist, concludes, “Resilience means you went through a potentially traumatic event, such as combat, and you weren’t affected…the healing process, you grappled with it and eventually got to the point where you experienced some growth” (Keith 2). Growth after trauma is a distinct experience for every individual. The coping mechanisms used to heal after trauma differ per the individual, which makes resilience unique. Trauma at a young age sticks with one forever, but being able to recover and grow from a traumatic experience is what perpetuates resilience. Children who sustain adversity at a young age have a greater chance of building resilience that will help guide them through life, such as Jeannette Walls. Walls is an American author who wrote the novel The Glass Castle. The novel exhibits the resilience of Walls, which she gained through the traumatic experiences of her childhood. Walls unravels the horrors of her childhood, which included sexual assault, physical abuse, toxic relationships, and other traumatizing events. In the novel The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls presents a startling and traumatizing memory from her childhood, “Then he knocked the knife out of Mom’s hand, dropped his own knife, and wrestled her to the floor. We kids pounded on Dad’s back and begged him to stop, but he ignored us” (Walls 122). Jeannette experienced numerous situations as a child, just like the one between her parents. Jeannette desperately searched for an escape from her trauma, which would blossom into her passionate love for writing. Jeannette grew alongside her writing, which eventually led to her escape from home at 17. Jeannette worked tirelessly to acquire a job at a newspaper to make money and develop her love for writing further. Jeannette and the lessons learned from her trauma led her to become a bestselling author. Today, Jeannette is happily married and has had a successful career due to the stories and experiences that made her resilient and strong. Childhood trauma builds resilience and causes personal growth to create a sense of protection against adversity that later in life comes together to form a strong future.
Personal growth is a difficult challenge across all walks of life, but consider the extreme difficulties those with traumatic backgrounds experience. Personal growth takes realization about the kind of person an individual truly is versus the individual they strive to be. Personal growth grants an unseen advantage to those with trauma due to the multitude of reflections used during the healing process. Personal growth takes various amounts of reflection depending on the individual, but reflection is one advantage the neglected have. Reflection and resilience are two of the biggest ways those with childhood trauma can become stronger and heal over time. Strength and resilience from difficult lessons induce personal growth in behavior and mental health. The Evergreen Psychotherapy Center researched traumatized and abused children and adults to discover how trauma affects personal growth and mental health. Terry Levy from The Evergreen Psychotherapy Center found in the center’s research, “Building hope is a key aspect of healing with traumatized children and adults. Hope is linked to better physical and psychological health, academic and work performance, and recovery from trauma. Traumatic experiences shatter one’s belief in a safe world and lead to a sense of a foreshortened future. Hope empowers and motivates individuals to believe in the possibility of a brighter future. Envisioning a future worth living is essential to recovery” (Levy 1). Having hope after enduring a traumatic experience induces a stronger healing process as well as increased personal growth. Being able to grow from abuse and other traumatic experiences is incredibly difficult, but having hope to become something more than the past fuels personal growth. Personal growth is not a short-term process, it can take years to heal the wounds implemented by abuse. Veterans and children can experience similar results after traumatic events. Research done by Dr. Jack Tsai’s research survey for the US Department of Veteran Affairs observed, “In a study by Dr. Jack Tsai’s group, based on survey results from a nationally representative sample of more than 3,000 Veterans, 50 percent of all Veterans reported “moderate” posttraumatic growth. Among those who screened positive for PTSD, 72 percent reported moderate posttraumatic growth” (Tsai 4). PTSD is a similarly found effect on children, meaning that as children’s brains develop, they also experience forms of personal growth. While personal growth may take years to make an appearance in children faced with adversity, it presents itself to advance past their trauma.
Although some children heal after experiencing a traumatic event during childhood, that is not the case for all. A large majority of children who undergo a distressing event at a young age have an increased chance of mental health and physical health conditions in the future. Research published by the National Library of Medicine concluded that “Childhood abuse has been associated with a plethora of psychological and somatic symptoms, as well as psychiatric and medical diagnoses, including depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), chronic pain syndromes, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and irritable bowel. Compared with nonabused adults, those who experienced childhood abuse are more likely to engage in high-risk health behaviors, including smoking, alcohol and drug use, and unsafe sex; to report an overall lower health status; and to use more health services” (NIH par. 4). The damage done by child abuse is undoable in many cases. Neglect, abuse, and trauma cause significant physical and mental damage that only deters a child and their future further off course. Child abuse and neglect are costly, not only to the individual but to everyone around them. The National Children’s Alliance gathered statistics on the number of children who experience abuse and found, “1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys in the U.S. are estimated to experience child abuse” (The National Children’s Alliance 1). “Nearly half of all U.S. children experience at least one type of childhood trauma. That exacts a toll on children, their caregivers, and their community, and our country as a whole also pays a price. Quite literally: In addition to the physical, emotional, and social costs of child abuse, it also carries economic costs” (The National Children’s Alliance 2). Not all children who sustain trauma during childhood have as severe an impact. The outcomes of child abuse are extreme difficulties that communities and families do not know how to navigate in most situations, however, this does not mean that all children have these difficulties. There are many success stories of those who overcame the adversity of abuse, neglect, and trauma during childhood. Wes Moore, an American author, wrote a novel titled The Other Wes Moore, which dives through the story of his life as well as the Other Wes Moore’s life. Wes was only three years old when he encountered his first significant traumatizing event. Moore’s father died in front of him, which led to a single-parent household during his childhood. Moore’s behavior became alarmingly inept, which led to his enrollment in military school. Moore thrived in military school after becoming familiar with the routine and later joined the army after graduating military school. Military school changed Moore’s outlook on life and forged him into the man he is today. Wes Moore reflected, “People who taught me that no accident of birth-not being black or relatively poor, from Baltimore or the Bronx or fatherless-would ever define or limit me. In other words, they helped me discover what it means to be free” (Moore 179-180). Wes Moore used his traumatic childhood experiences to enhance his future. Moore is now a successful author and Senator of Maryland. Moore is just one of many success stories that have stemmed from childhood trauma. Every road to recovery is different. Many children gain skills from overcoming their adversities during childhood that are later used to make something meaningful out of their future.
Childhood trauma has the potential to create strength that can make a positive impact on a child’s future. Understanding the severity of the situation and the lessons a child learns to protect themselves after a traumatic event can propel them forward. It is important to note that not all stories are success stories, in fact, many stories today are not, but there is hope. While not all children try to find a positive in their trauma, children who do can use their past situations to motivate themselves to become better and do something to make a difference. After all, if one falls, the only thing they can do is get back up again.
- Success Despite Childhood Trauma - December 5, 2025
