All children can experience a full range of traumatic stress reactions with very young children particularly vulnerable (Scheeringa, Zeanah et. al. 2005). The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (2006) state:

More than twenty years of studies have confirmed that school-age children and adolescents can experience the full range of posttraumatic stress reactions that are seen in adults. We might wish to believe that children under five years of age are too young to know what was happening during a traumatic event and that whatever impression was left would be forgotten soon. However, recent studies show that traumatic experiences affect the brains, minds, and behavior of even very young children, causing similar reaction to those seen in older children and adults (p.6).

The National Science Council on the Developing Child provides more detailed information about the effects of complex trauma on children. NSCDC states:

The fact that many young children are exposed to significant stresses is old news. How different aspects of a child’s environment can be a source of continuous stress, and the degree to which children’s past developmental experiences influence their biological responsiveness to later stressful conditions are not appreciated by most adults. The realization that stresses experienced by parents and other caregivers can affect a child’s developing brain architecture and chemistry in a way that makes some children more susceptible to stress-related disorders later in life is startling new to most people (p.6).

Focusing on Science the Council states:

1. Science does not support the claim that infants and young children are too young to be affected by significant stresses that negatively affect their family and caregiving environments (p.5).
2. Notwithstanding the preceding statement, there is no credible scientific evidence that supports the conclusion that young children who have been exposed to significant early stresses will always develop stress-related disorders (p.5).

The Council notes:

The capacity to deal with stress is controlled by a set of highly inter-related brain circuits and hormonal systems that are specifically designed to deal adaptively with environmental challenges. When an individual feels threatened, stress hormones are produced that convert the physical or emotional stress into chemical signals that are sent throughout the body as well as the brain (p.2).

Specifically:

1. The neural circuits for dealing with stress are particularly malleable (or “plastic”) during the fetal and early childhood periods. Early experiences shape how readily they are activated and how well they can be contained and turned off. Toxic stress during this early period can affect developing brain circuits and hormonal systems in a way that leads to poorly controlled stress-responsive systems that will be overly reactive or slow to shut down when faced with threats throughout the lifespan.
2. Well functioning brain systems that respond to stress are essential to preserve life. However, like the immune system, which defends the body against threatening infections but can cause autoimmune disease when it turns against the body’s own cells, a poorly controlled response to stress can be damaging to health and well-being if activated too often or for too long.
3. Frequent or sustained activation of brain systems that respond to stress can lead to heightened vulnerability to a range of behavioral and physiological disorders over a lifetime. These undesirable outcomes can include a number of stress-related disorders affecting both mental (e.g., depression, anxiety disorders, alcoholism, drug abuse) and physical (e.g. cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke) health (p.2).

The Council notes that “stress responses include activation of a variety of hormone and neurochemical systems throughout the body” (p.2). This includes:

1. Adrenaline production occurs in response to many forms of acute stress. ... It’s release is essential for survival (p.2).
2. Cortisol also is produced in response to many forms of stress, and likewise helps the body cope effectively with adverse situations (p.3).
3. Sustained or frequent activation of the hormonal systems that respond to stress can have serious developmental consequences, some of which may last well past the time of stress exposure. For example, when children experience toxic stress, their cortisol levels remain elevated for prolonged periods of time. Both animal and human studies show that long-term elevations in cortisol levels can alter the function of a number of neural systems, and even change the architecture of regions in the brain that are essential for learning and memory (p. 3).

The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child then focuses on studies of children that document what they refer to as “a compelling story about the relation between early stress experiences an human development” (p.4):

1. The relationships children have with their caregivers play critical roles in regulating stress hormone production during the early years of life. ... In contrast, children whose relationships are insecure or disorganized demonstrate higher stress hormone levels when they are even mildly frightened. This results in an increased incidence of elevated cortisol levels which may alter the development of brain circuits in ways that make some children less capable of coping effectively with stress as they grow up.
2. Research has shown that the presence of a sensitive and responsive caregiver can prevent elevations in cortisol among toddlers, even in children who tend to be temperamentally fearful or anxious.
3. The quality of early care and education that many young children receive in programs outside their home also plays an important role in whether (and to what extent) their brains are exposed to elevated stress hormones early in life.
4. Children who grow up in families facing economic hardship commonly exhibit elevated cortisol levels.
5. Young children who are neglected or maltreated have abnormal patterns of cortisol production that can last even after the child has been moved to a safe and loving home. This is especially true for children who show symptoms of post-traumatic stress, even if their behavior is not sufficient to warrant a definitive diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (p.4).

Research on children and trauma supports the basic framework, philosophy and purpose of ICEC and the recommendations of international scholars associated with the Center. The psychiatrist Bessel Van der Kolk (2005) stresses the importance of “establishing safety and competence for children who have experienced complex traumas. He writes:

Complexly traumatized children need to be helped to engage their attention in pursuits that do not remind them of trauma-related triggers and that give them a sense of pleasure and mastery. Safety, predictability, and “fun” are essential for the establishment of the capacity to observe what is going on, put it into a larger context, and initiate physiological and motoric self-regulation.

Before addressing anything else, these children need to be helped how to react differently from their habitual fight/flight/freeze reactions. Only after children develop the capacity to focus on pleasurable activities without becoming disorganized do they have a chance to develop the capacity to play with other children, engage in simple group activities and deal with more complex issues (p.7).