Common Causes of Trauma
in Children:
Lack of Friends or Support
Psychology Today reports, “Friendship
is like food. We need it to survive.” Children do
need friends to support them as they move away from the
family and become more independent. Some children have only
one good friend at a time; others have many. Most children
learn the skills of friendship in their own time.
A lack of close friends and little social
contact generally brings about the emotional discomfort
or distress known as loneliness. Everyone is lonely at some
time. Chronic loneliness, however, is one of the surest
markers in existence for maladjustment.
Some Findings
Nicki R. Crick and David A. Nelson stated
that research has shown that having many friends or having
friends who were protective buffered children from the negative
effects of peer victimization. Similarly, findings from
two additional studies have demonstrated that children with
numerous friends are less likely to be victimized than children
who lack friends. Hara Marano in Psychology Today states
that lonely children report more stress when exposed to
the same stressors as non-lonely people. Further, she states
that loneliness raises levels of stress hormones and blood
pressure, which in turn causes the heart to work harder.
What can parents do to help their child form
friendships? Jan Faull, a child development expert, suggests
that with younger children, the teacher might pair a lonely
chidh with another child. Sometimes a child who is slightly
older or younger works best, because different-aged children
accommodate one another more easily. Teachers can suggest
that at home, the parents might invite a child over after
school or on Saturday afternoon to play. The goal is for
the child to begin to see himself or herself as social rather
than alone.
Web Resources
