Running head: POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH
POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH
Student's Name
Institutional Affiliation
POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH
Post-Traumatic Growth
Violence in schools has been a significant topic of discussion as parents are now
concerned about their children's safety after sending them to school. Sometimes back school was
viewed as the safest place the kids can be, but nowadays, there are physical assaults, bullying.
and deadly violence through weaponry. In recent years there has been an increase in the cases of
mass shootings in the United States. A survey conducted indicated that 6 percent of those
interviewed claimed to have experienced some form of violence that makes them afraid of school
as they fear that it may one day happen to them (Flynn et al., 2018). Even though the school
shootings happen in other schools, children may see the shooting casualties on television news,
which may affect their mental health by making them feel unsafe while at school. Therefore this
paper will focus on the emotional damage associated with school children towards the students.
The paper will also reflect on complex trauma, grit, growth mindset, and post-traumatic stress
related to school violence.
Physical and Psychological Impact of Stress
The body's response to a stressful event may have both temporary and long term effects
on a person. However, the impact of stress is not only psychological as it also has physical
effects. The violence exposed to children has been shown to affect them psychologically, leading
to post-traumatic disorder and depressive symptoms (Schneiderman et al., 2005). According to
Schneiderman, other stressors associated with the development of post-traumatic disorder are
injury and perceived threat to one's life. In the case of violence happens in a child's school, there
may be injury involved and a perception that their life is under threat, which may lead to PTSD.
In the physical aspect, exposure to these stressful events daily can cause a chronic stress
POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH
response, leading to an increased probability of the child getting a disease, which is mostly
dependent on a child's biological vulnerability. These stressors affect the child's mental health
wherever they are around the school, which makes the child lose concentration, affecting school
performance. Also, if the stressors prolong over time, they can lead to a regular occurrence of
diseases, which may cause the child to miss school.
Resilience, GRIT, and Growth Mindset
Resilience is the ability of a person to adapt positively after a stressful or negative event
has happened (Compton & Hoffman, 2012). Resilience can also be termed as the ability to
overcome the stressors associated with an event that negatively affects a person. According to
Compton, children are more resilient than adults as they are still in the growing process, which
helps them continue functioning in the future by adjusting to their situation. Children experience
unstable environments during their growth, including parental abuse and neglect, poverty, and
unfavorable surroundings such as war, where they adapt to the situation hence are less negatively
affected(Compton &Hoffman, 2012). Children's resilience is also high as they can associate