Are attachment disorders or separation anxieties a result of trauma?
Can they be? A: Trauma at a young age may significantly alter the development of secure attachments. Abused infants may demonstrate disorganized/disoriented attachment patterns, for instance, freezing or aggression in the presence of caregivers, or clinging to the caregiver because of separation anxiety. Trauma makes the children unable to discriminate between really dangerous or neutral stimuli and they lack the ability of self-regulation. Q: Is there a stage in one’s life then, where one is most vulnerable to violence or trauma of any kind? A: Our study of the children of the Armenian earthquake in 1998 showed that children ages five and six were most vulnerable to the trauma. This is the age when the child realizes the adverse consequences of the tragedy, but does not yet possess adequate coping skills to deal with that awareness. Boys at this age are also more vulnerable than girls. (In total, 839 children were examined from the ages of three to seventeen.) Q: Does the type of viol
