A new study has found a link between childhood trauma and homelessness later in life. While childhood trauma is not something that we would wish on any child, the reality is that it happens and it is not just things that are inflicted by parents, like maltreatment. Traumatic events can happen to families as a whole, and looking at the impact they can have now and in the future is incredibly important. It is important to study how trauma affects a child as they age so that resources can be put in place to help them navigate and heal from it.

According to Medical Xpress, a new study has found that there is a link between experiencing trauma as a child and then experiencing homelessness later in life. This study was done by St. Michael’s Hospital and it can be read in full here.

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They completed this study and found that 90% of homeless adults had experienced childhood trauma. They found that 9 in 10 had lived through at least one adverse childhood experience, but more than half had experienced four or more childhood experiences that were negative.

There have been previous studies done that have shown that childhood trauma is linked to mental health struggles and self-harming behaviors, but this one was able to link it directly to the risk of a child growing up to struggle and become homeless. This information can help professionals intervene when a traumatic event has occurred, to find a stage in the growing up process where it can be worked on and healed to prevent this from happening. The researchers are stating that early intervention is vital when it comes to childhood trauma and preventing them from growing up with struggles in adulthood.

They do understand that childhood trauma is not the only factor to take into consideration when looking at a child’s risk of homelessness in the future, but it is a strong indicator. They state that this information can help the current homeless population, by helping them work through their trauma which has impacted their lives, and that services and care should be trauma-informed.

However, it can also help parents and medical professionals of children who have gone through an adverse childhood experience. It can help them process the trauma and their mental health when they are young and set them up with resources and skills to navigate and process what happened to them and put forth some healthy coping strategies to limit the impact it has on their future life.

Sources: Medical Xpress, The Lancet