The effects of trauma on child development: Children in South Africa

Abstract

This chapter examines research in the field of traumatic experience and its effect on child development. The impact of trauma is discussed in terms of how various traumatic experiences affect all children, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, or their social and economic resources. The particular stressors faced by children in South Africa are discussed in terms of how they mediate these children’s experiences of trauma, and the effects such experiences may have on their further development.