It is well documented that adverse or traumatic events in childhood can lead to increased incidences of serious mental and physical health diseases and disorders. It is also well documented that medical treatment, especially during childhood can be stressful and potentially traumatic, leading to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or Symptoms after treatment. This is especially true for lengthy and invasive medical treatment such as Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT). A single music therapy intervention has been shown to effectively improve resilience in pediatric HSCT patients. But additional research is needed to understand the contribution music therapy interventions make to traumatic and stressful experiences and building resilience across time. This longitudinal two-phase multi-case study examined the patterns of potential trauma, toxic stress, and resilience during the HSCT process as well as the potential roles, functions, and contributions of music therapy interventions to the mitigation and prevention of toxic stress and trauma. The first phase, a retrospective multi-case study, resulted in the construction of a preliminary model of music therapy which identified patterns of stress and trauma and how the music therapy process interacts with these patterns. In the second phase, a purposeful sample of cases was used to confirm, clarify, and challenge the model utilizing Template Analysis. The outcome is the Music Therapy for Pediatric Medical Trauma, a proposed model of music therapy to focus treatment with the intention of mitigating toxic stress and trauma and build resilience in pediatric HSCT patients. / Music Therapy

The legacy of historical trauma continues to plague Indigenous populations throughout the world. This theoretical dissertation describes how biology (neurodevelopment, neurobiology and endocrinology) and culture (inter-generationally learned behaviors) are intricately intertwined in the development of dysfunctional coping behaviors that contribute to stress-related chronic diseases (heart disease, obesity, type II diabetes mellitus, depression, neurodegenerative disorders and memory impairment) in some individuals. The primary impact of the many episodes of historically traumatic genocide has been post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the onset of dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA-axis). PTSD has had a profound impact on relationships and behaviors, while dysregulation of the HPA-axis is associated with pathophysiology. It is well documented that historical trauma has caused a cultural disconnect from traditional wellness and healing practices. Despite incredible resiliency, the result of this legacy has been a genesis of intergenerational, dysfunctional, coping strategies that have become subtly engrained in a viscous cycle of self-perpetuating, self-inflicting, dysfunctional behaviors that have been carried forward into the next generation as "toxic stress" - in the form of childhood abuse, domestic violence, interpersonal violence, and substance abuse. With time, the association to the initial traumatic assault erodes, leaving behind, collectively, a fragmented society that, in many places, has become the basis for a "cultural crisis". The approach presented in this dissertation is founded upon: 1) cultural acquisition theories that describe how existing cultural constructs and traditions are internalized by children and repeated throughout a life-time into the next generation; and 2) understanding the interaction of the autonomic nervous system (specifically, the HPA-axis and its activation by stress) and the neocortex, the basis for higher psychological processes associated with learning and cultural acquisition. This dissertation offers an explanation for the continued impact of historically traumatic events on the contemporary health and wellness of American Indian and Alaska Native people. It is hoped that this approach leads to specific intervention and prevention measures that are culturally relevant in addressing pathophysiology, cognitive-behavioral issues and the collective cultural changes that have ensued as a result of historical trauma.

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An abundance of research has implicated socioeconomic disadvantage as a major risk factor for increased rates of morbidity and mortality worldwide. While advances in science, medicine, and technology have enabled a positive trend in health outcomes over the previous two decades, individuals of lower socioeconomic status have experienced negligible improvements in health and longevity. Furthermore, individuals of lower socioeconomic status face higher risks of mental health disorders than their higher socioeconomic status counterparts. In order to improve methods of intervention, it is important to understand how the roots of these issues are cultivated during childhood. Socioeconomic status is operationalized in multiple ways, including objective measures at both the household and neighborhood levels such as income, education, occupation, employment status, and single-parent status, as well as subjective measures such as perceived social status. This work explores the relationships between exposure to childhood socioeconomic disadvantage and the development of psychopathology. It reviews the literature for impacts of lower socioeconomic status during childhood on both internalizing (mood and anxiety) and externalizing (behavioral and substance use) disorders. Overall, mental health disorders constitute a significant proportion of the worldwide health burden, affecting one in four adults across the global population, including one in five adults and one in two adolescents in the United States. These staggering prevalence rates illuminate the importance of better understanding the mechanisms by which mental health illnesses emerge. Childhood exposure to socioeconomic deprivation has been identified as a robust contributing factor to the increased risk of psychopathology development. Exposure to socioeconomic disadvantage increases the risk for mood disorders such as major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, bipolar I and II disorder, cyclothymic disorder; anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias; behavioral disorders such as oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; and substance use disorders such as alcohol and tobacco use. These conditions can disrupt normal growth and development; cause significant impairment in social, academic, and occupational environments; and create tremendous distress in important areas of daily functioning. An ecobiodevelopmental model reveals how the interplay of biological factors, such as genetic inheritance and physiological adaptations/disruptions, with ecological factors, such as the social and physical environment, occurs continuously across the entire life span from the prenatal period through infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood to drive development and the evolution of individual health and disease. Application of this approach helps to explain how genetic predispositions interact with exposure to poverty to cultivate an environment more prone to adverse childhood experiences. Adverse childhood experiences are stressors occurring prior to the age of 18 that can be threatening or harmful emotionally or physically, which can include traumatic or potentially traumatic experiences such as neglect and abuse. Examples include socioeconomic hardship, racial/ethnic discrimination, parental death, separation from parents, divorce, neighborhood violence, parental mental illness, abuse, neglect, parental substance abuse, violence and criminality in the home, and life-threatening physical illness. Adverse childhood experiences promote toxic stress, which occurs from distressing situations high in magnitude, duration, or frequency without protective, buffering adult relationships to help the child cope. Toxic stress is characterized by an overloading of the body’s normal physiologic response mechanisms, which can have adverse long-term consequences through brain circuitry alterations and physiologic disruptions of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis occurring during sensitive, critical periods of development. Toxic stress-induced alterations can occur in brain regions such as the hippocampus, amygdala, and prefrontal cortex, which are important in mood control, anxiety, stress coping, decision-making, and self-regulation. Self-regulation is a critical mediator in the link between childhood deprivation and subsequent psychopathology, as deficits in self-regulation increases the risk of both internalizing and externalizing disorders. In summation, the ecobiodevelopmental model is a multi-disciplinary approach that integrates developmental science constructs of toxic stress and self-regulation with ecology, neuroscience, and life course sciences to supply promising explanations for the underlying mechanisms linking childhood poverty to mental illnesses.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events experienced by children and adolescents ages zero to 17 that can have a long-lasting effect on a person's overall mental and physical health. Recent studies have shown that the rate of students entering college with one or more ACEs has increased, potentially resulting in a lower rate of college completion. The purpose of this study is to gain insight into how college students with multiple ACEs navigate the college experience despite their barriers. College students are a unique population due to their range of diversity in every aspect of a student's life, including race/ethnicity, number of ACEs, level of resiliency, and life experiences. Using a mixed-methods strategy, a cross-sectional design will be applied for a set of initial surveys to establish demographic information of the college student body. Then, a qualitative/narrative design will be used for students with multiple ACEs (four or more) to gain perspective of their college experience, including their resiliency and use of resources. By using a mixed-method design, the results will be able to highlight a percentage of the current college population in relation to ACEs and gain insight into the college interventions/resources from the point of view of students. Research has proven that ACEs can create potential barriers for college students when pursuing their college degrees. However, more research needs to emphasize student resiliency, social support, and the utilization of interventions.

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This thesis evaluated the Trauma-Informed Child Advocacy Certificate (TICA) at Mississippi State University which is hosted in the School of Human Sciences, specifically in the area of Human Development and Family Science (HDFS). HDFS students (N = 94) enrolled in coursework during Spring 2021 participated in the evaluation. Students were grouped by enrollment in TICA courses, with 43 students having participated in TICA coursework and 51 students having only participated in general HDFS courses. Assessments included a perceived knowledge survey and 10 application-based scenarios. Independent samples T-tests indicated TICA students perceived themselves to have more trauma-informed knowledge, and frequency analyses showed they were more effective at applying that knowledge than HDFS students who have not taken any TICA courses. Data were used to highlight strengths of the TICA program and make recommendations on ways to enhance the TICA coursework to promote knowledge of trauma-informed professional practices.

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Thesis (MSc (Botany and Zoology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / The ability of various molluscan species to accumulate toxicants such as cadmium from natural waters in quantities that are many orders of magnitude higher than background levels are well-known. This phenomenon of bioaccumulation might cause certain stress responses in these organisms at the cellular level, which can be measured using biomarkers. A biomarker response test known as the neutral red retention assay was employed in this study to measure responses in four intertidal species. Specimens of Cymbula oculus (Born), Scutellastra longicosta (Lamarck), Cymbula granatina (Linnaeus) and Scutellastra granularis (Linnaeus) were collected at two localities on the coast of False Bay, South Africa. Laboratory exposures in static flow tanks at three different concentrations i.e. 0.8, 1 and 1.2 mg/L of CdCl2 were done respectively for each species over a three day exposure period i.e. each exposure concentration had an exposure period of 24, 48 and 72 hours. After every 24 hour exposure period the lysosomal membrane integrity was determined using the neutral red retention method to establish which species is the most sensitive to Cd. Both control and exposure groups for all species showed a decrease in retention times with an increase in Cd concentration over the exposure period. This decrease was particularly prominent at the highest exposure concentration after 72 hours. At 0.8 and 1.2 mg/L CdCl2 exposures an indirectly proportional relationship between neutral red retention time and heavy metal concentration was prominent in C. oculus, indicating a dose related response. In all species there was a moderate increase in heavy metal concentration over the 72 hour exposure period. EC50 values indicated that S. granularis and C. granatina had a “high” sensitivity to Cd contamination, while C. oculus had “medium” sensitivity and S. longicosta “low” sensitivity to Cd contamination. The sensitivity data obtained from the analysis of the experimental species in this study may contribute to the eventual establishment of a species sensitivity distribution model (SSD).