Psychology Commons^™

Effects Of Trauma Induced Stress On Attention, Executive Functioning, Processing Speed, And Resilience In Urban Children, Antoinette Welsh

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Brain development, and particularly structures involved in executive functioning, occurs at different rates in children, leading to differential performance in school. Due to neuroanatomical changes secondary to the stress response, children who have experienced stress as a result of poverty and traumatic events may be at increased risk for cognitive difficulties, including attention, executive functioning, and processing speed (Blair, Granger, & Razza, 2005; DeBellis, Hooper, & Sapia, 2005). Prevalence rates among urban children suggest that 70-100% have been exposed to trauma (Dempsey, Overstreet, & Moely, 2000; Macy, Baryry, & Noam, 2003). Some of these children develop posttraumatic stress disorder and …