Child Molesters, Child Abuse Effects: Bulimia, Eating Disorders, Addictions

Chamberlain, an epidemiologist who founded the Alaska Family Violence Prevention Project, was the keynote speaker at a workshop organized by the Maternal and Child Health Coalition of Greater Kansas City.

She discussed the still-maturing brain of adolescents and the often-traumatic effect that violence, including domestic violence, can have. She said trauma experienced by a child might not show up in destructive behaviors until the teen years.

Chamberlain suggested that when teachers, school counselors or social workers work with children who are abusing alcohol and drugs, having sex, experiencing eating disorders or threatening suicide, the adults should look closely for violence in the home.

“It doesn't matter if the child has seen it, heard it or just sensed the violence in the home — it will have an effect on them,” she said.

Several workers from a battered women's shelter said that Chamberlain's association of the developing brain, violence and teen behavior made sense, saying that it explained outbursts they witnessed in children of their shelter clients.

Chamberlain described each area of the brain and its role in human development. Many changes in the brain, she said, occur during adolescence. For some, adolescence extends until age 20; for others, as late as 26.

Because the young brain is not fully developed, especially the prefrontal lobe, which determines judgment, organization and self-control, that area is more vulnerable to stress brought on by exposure to violence.

The younger a child's age, the more development of the brain is compromised and the longer lasting the effects.

“By age 12, children exposed to violence are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, anxiety and defiance disorders associated with post-traumatic stress disorder,” Chamberlain said.

All types of violence are culprits, including television and video-game violence in which consequences for actions are not clear.

“Parents, cut the cable, save a brain,” Chamberlain said.

But the worst violence for children and adolescents, she said, is family violence.

“Seeing parents or other adults fight can feel as bad to a teen as being hit themselves,” she said.