The Psychological Impact of Unresolved Childhood Trauma in a Pediatric Population

Giulio Perrotta* and Stefano Eleuteri

Introduction: Unresolved childhood traumas, throughout the human developmental stage, are capable of negatively affecting an individual’s psychophysical growth, promoting the onset of psychopathological conditions. In the literature, the intrapsychic processes capable of explaining this phenomenon are not yet known, and the specific consequences are not known with certainty. 

Method: The sample is composed of 44 Italian participants (16 males; 28 females), aged between 8 and 17 years (M: 12.9; SD: 3.1). By means of clinical interview and administration of the “Test of Separation Anxiety” (SAT), the “Perrotta Integrative Clinical Interviews”, version C-3 (PICI-C-3) and the “Perrotta Human Emotions Questionnaire” (PHE-Q), pediatric patients included in the population sample were investigated. 

Results: The data obtained from the research statistically showed significant differences (p < 0.001) between the clinical group and the control group, correlating pathological attachment style with a specific dysfunctional personality profile (p < 0.001), in the pediatric population studied. 

Conclusions: Unresolved childhood trauma is a predisposing factor for the onset of a psychopathological disorder, capable of impacting both functioning and personality structure; however, other factors have also been identified that, if present facilitate or exacerbate the morbid condition, such as the duration of exposure to the trauma, the repetitiveness of the negative effects of the trauma, the depth of the suffering experienced, possible behavioral reinforcers, other traumatizing causes, such as psychophysical violence (with or without sexual intent), genetic and familial predisposition to certain psychopathologies, extreme economic poverty, adverse socio-environmental and cultural context, and difficulty of integration. Early psychotherapeutic intervention can promote functional recovery.

Key points: 

Unresolved childhood traumas are factors that predispose the onset of psychopathologies, but require other contributing causes to exert their dysfunctional power.

Unresolved childhood traumas influence neuropsychological development from their onset.

Unresolved childhood trauma has a greater negative impact, regardless of age, if it is amplified or maintained by other predisposing or facilitating factors, such as education received, personal and family lifestyle, social environment, and genetic predisposition.

Sexual gender (male/female) does not play an important role in unprocessed childhood trauma, except to the extent of the sexual sphere, with a marked prevalence in the female population.

Keywords:

Published on: Dec 18, 2025 Pages: 32-42

Full Text PDF Full Text HTML DOI: 10.17352/ojt.000051
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