RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY FROM TRAUMA

"Resilience" is a concept that is often used to explain the expectation that children and adolescents can rebound from any personal or community problem, tragedy or loss. While most students recover over time, up to 25% withdraw from teachers, friends and family members or "act out" with increased aggressive behavior, leading to expulsion, suspension or dropout. The reality is that a significant number of students cannot re-engage in the learning process or "rebound" without adult help and guidance in school.

HOW DOES VIOLENCE AFFECT LEARNING?

• Decreased reading ability (Delaney-Black et al., 2003)
• Lower grade-point average (Hurt et al., 2001)
• More days of school absence (Hurt et al., 2001)
• Decreased rates of high school graduation  (Grogger, 1997)
• Increased expulsions and suspensions

The negative effects of violence exposure on learning are well documented. Students traumatized by community or interpersonal violence suffer negative effects which include the inability to focus or concentrate on reading and math, inability to take in new information, interrupted sleep, withdrawn or aggressive/acting out behavior, reduced school attendance, and increased rates of suspension, expulsions, and dropout.

HOW DOES TRAUMA CONTRIBUTE TO THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP?

The negative effects of posttraumatic stress and depression due to community violence may explain one aspect of the bleak reality that African American and Latino students continue to trail far behind their Caucasian peers in schools, such as higher drop out rates from high school after generations of education "reform". (Shin, 2005)

For additional resource information, please select any of the links below:

 Mental Health and Academic Achievement Abstract (PDF)