Descriptions of Childhood Trauma, Effects of the Trauma, and How Adults Moved Through the Trauma to Normalized Behavior
type: CreativeWork
description: Problem. People who are not able to overcome the effects of childhood trauma often waste their human potential on substance abuse and illegal and illicit lifestyles; they end up in prison, uneducated, or develop self-destructive behavior. They often struggle with poor learning and social skills and are not able to be successful in life. However, some individuals do succeed. This study interviewed eight individuals who suffered childhood trauma and developed ways of overcoming that trauma to live prosperous, productive, and, in many regards, full lives. Method. This qualitative study used interviews to explore how adults traumatized as children described childhood trauma and its effect, and their ability to move through the trauma and live normalized adult lives. The eight individuals were located by personal contacts and snowball referrals. Face-to-face interviews took place in public and private locations chosen by individuals. The eight participants consisted of four individuals and two couples. The open-ended questions during the interviews allowed each participant to comfortably disclose their sensitive stories of their past traumatic experiences and how they eventually were supported, encouraged, and nurtured to normalized adult behavior. The writing process began with transcription of recorded interviews. The first step of the data analysis process was to organize the data into details and then look at the individual pieces of information as a whole. A precoding process was used to identify similarities and differences in interviews. The following code systems were applied in the first cycle of coding: (a) in vivo codes: taken directly from what participants said, (b) descriptive codes: summarize the primary topic, usually a noun, (c) process codes: words or phrases that capture action, (d) values codes: assess participants’ integrated value, attitude, and belief systems at work, and (e) emotion codes: describe a participant’s emotional experience, primary emo…
abstract: Problem. People who are not able to overcome the effects of childhood trauma often waste their human potential on substance abuse and illegal and illicit lifestyles; they end up in prison, uneducated, or develop self-destructive behavior. They often struggle with poor learning and social skills and are not able to be successful in life. However, some individuals do succeed. This study interviewed eight individuals who suffered childhood trauma and developed ways of overcoming that trauma to live prosperous, productive, and, in many regards, full lives. Method. This qualitative study used interviews to explore how adults traumatized as children described childhood trauma and its effect, and their ability to move through the trauma and live normalized adult lives. The eight individuals were located by personal contacts and snowball referrals. Face-to-face interviews took place in public and private locations chosen by individuals. The eight participants consisted of four individuals and two couples. The open-ended questions during the interviews allowed each participant to comfortably disclose their sensitive stories of their past traumatic experiences and how they eventually were supported, encouraged, and nurtured to normalized adult behavior. The writing process began with transcription of recorded interviews. The first step of the data analysis process was to organize the data into details and then look at the individual pieces of information as a whole. A precoding process was used to identify similarities and differences in interviews. The following code systems were applied in the first cycle of coding: (a) in vivo codes: taken directly from what participants said, (b) descriptive codes: summarize the primary topic, usually a noun, (c) process codes: words or phrases that capture action, (d) values codes: assess participants’ integrated value, attitude, and belief systems at work, and (e) emotion codes: describe a participant’s emotional experience, primary emo…
author: Schaaf, Alice Katherine
keywords: Child Psychology, Psychology
date published: 2012-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:53:07Z
provider: Andrews University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Andrews University