A Systematic Literature Review of the Contribution Accumulation Makes to Psychological and Physical Trauma Sustained through Childhood Maltreatment

Abstract

The pervasive effects of cumulative harm resulting from adverse childhood experiences influence all aspects of an individual’s life course. Research highlights a relationship between accumulation and trauma symptomology across all domains of harm and risk. A systematic literature review was conducted to explore and synthesize the current evidence base for the contribution accumulation makes to psychological and physical injury of childhood trauma. A search was conducted relevant to two areas of interest: (a) “cumulative harm” or “cumulative trauma” and (b) “consequences and outcomes”. Database searches and further manual searches yielded a total of 1199 articles, and 12 studies satisfied all the inclusion criteria. Only studies that were peer-reviewed and published between January 2011 and January 2022 were included. The evidence from the review indicated that multiplicity and polyvictimization, parental history and intergenerational transmission of trauma, systemic cumulative harm, and developmental lifespan outcomes were associated with the likelihood and impact of the accumulation of physical and psychological injury. The findings of this review contribute valuable knowledge to allow for a better understanding of the physical and psychological impact of accumulated and chronic childhood trauma. This knowledge will improve intervention, prevention, and management strategies for helping professionals working with traumatized or vulnerable children and adults.

History of Childhood Trauma in Patients Presenting with Conversion Disorder

“…Despite advancements in medical research and psychology, the precise mechanisms underlying conversion disorder remain elusive (9). However, a growing body of evidence suggests a strong correlation between adverse childhood experiences-such as physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, along with neglect-and the emergence of the disorder (10,11). It is proposed that such traumas may disrupt the development of effective coping mechanisms, leading to the conversion of emotional distress into physical manifestations (12).…”

Relationship between child-to-parent violence and cumulative childhood adversity: the mediating role of parental attachment, resilience, and emotional intelligence

“…ACEs have been consistently related to a greater risk of internalizing problems (e.g., depression or anxiety; Chapman et al, 2004 ) and externalizing problems (e.g., violence or delinquency; Ford et al, 2012 ) as a consequence of the traumatic damage suffered. Moreover, the risk of these problems seems to be even greater in those cases in which multiple types of ACEs occur simultaneously ( Finkelhor et al, 2007 , 2013 ; Bryce and Collier, 2022 ), in other words, when there is cumulative childhood adversity. In the field of CPV, numerous studies have found that both direct and witnessing parental abuse are powerful predictors of CPV (e.g., Calvete et al, 2014 ; Margolin and Baucom, 2014 ; Contreras and Cano-Lozano, 2016 ; Beckmann, 2019 ; Contreras et al, 2020 ; Ibabe et al, 2020 ; Simmons et al, 2020 ; Cano-Lozano et al, 2021b ; Navas-Martínez and Cano-Lozano, 2022a ), increasing the probability of CPV up to 70% (see Gallego et al, 2019 , for review).…”

“…In relation to the aforementioned, the literature suggests that childhood adversity has a series of negative effects on children’s developmental evolution. For example, it has been found that ACEs are related to insecure parental attachment and lower levels of resilience and emotional intelligence ( Arslan, 2016 ; Lätsch et al, 2017 ; Huang and Mossige, 2018 ; Barnett and Howe, 2021 ) and predicts insecure parental attachment style as well as emotional, adaptive, and behavioral problems in the child (see Bryce and Collier, 2022 , for review). These studies have also found correlations between attachment, resilience, and emotional intelligence, which are variables that could be included in attachment theory ( Bowlby, 1979 ).…”

Solicitation and Sexualized Interactions of Minors with Adults: Prevalence, Overlap with Other Forms of Cybervictimization, and Relationship with Quality of Life

“…and externalizing variables (aggressiveness, inattention, criminal behavior, etc.) ( Bryce & Collier, 2022 ; MacKenzie et al, 2011 ). Holistic approaches also evaluate the consequences of such victimization for quality of life (QoL), defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a person’s perception of their objectives, expectations, standards, and concerns mediated by their cultural context and value system ( Saxena & Orley, 1997 ).…”