Child and Adolescent Trauma across the Spectrum of Experience: Research and Clinical Interventions

Abstract

This article introduces the first in a two-part special issue focusing on child and adolescent trauma across the spectrum of experience. This issue examines current research and clinical interventions specifically geared toward an array of possible traumatic events in the lives of children and adolescents. We briefly introduce the articles, which address the areas of child sexual abuse, traumatic loss, complex trauma in young children, exposure to severe natural disasters, and refugee youth mental health services. We then highlight factors that need to be accounted for in all interventions for children and adolescents impacted by trauma, including incorporating developmental, cultural, and ecological perspectives into intervention approaches.

Keywords:

• child trauma
• adolescent trauma
• ecology
• culture
• child sexual abuse
• natural disaster
• traumatic loss
• grief
• refugee youth