Childhood psychological trauma in adult life

Many psychotherapists are characterized by the belief:​​​​​​​ "Childhood and childhood trauma fatally determine the life of an adult." How much does this belief match the scientific evidence? You can confidently answer - it does not correspond in any way. This postulate is untenable, research and experiments have not confirmed this fact.

The Royal psychiatric College (the main professional Association of psychiatrists in the UK) stated in 2007:

Despite almost a century of psychoanalytic and psychological speculation, there is no independent evidence to support the assumption that parenting patterns or early childhood experiences play any role in shaping fundamental personal heterosexual or homosexual orientation.

Sexual orientation is not chosen, it is primarily biological in nature. Early childhood experience has nothing to do with it. Studies by social psychologists say the same thing – early childhood experience is not a determinant of a person's life.

"It turns out, for example, that in most cases the long-term consequences of childhood physical or sexual abuse are relatively insignificant (Widom, 1989). The same applies to the long-term consequences of teenage pregnancy in the lives of young women (Furstenberg, Brooks-Gunn, Morgan, 1987) and even the long-term effect of psychological treatment in pow camps (Schein, 1956)" (Ross L., Nisbet R. Man and situation: lessons in social psychology, Moscow, 1999).

Let's practise: give a forecast of the mental status of the girl Moti, who was born in 1885 in a poor family in a village near Tula. In this family, she was an unwanted child, she was not needed by anyone, she did not know parental and maternal love, during pregnancy, her mother wanted to send her to a shelter faster. She was born weak, ugly, with very short arms and legs, and was born blind: without eyes. She was a burden to her parents, and all her childhood she was laughed at and teased by the neighborhood children, who amused themselves by whipping her with nettles from different sides and demanding that she guess who was doing it, then putting her in a hole and watching her blindly get out. And at the age of 17, Motya completely decapitated: her legs were taken away, after which her brothers, having accepted the October revolution and joined the party, were driven out of the house. Question: how did these events of childhood and youth affect the character and worldview of the girl Moti, who was later called the Holy Matron of Moscow, and who devoted her entire life to serving people?

Or another case, documented much more reliably: the fate of the colonists, pupils of Anton Semyonovich Makarenko. These were children and teenagers who did not know their mother's love, who had experienced physical and sexual abuse in their childhood. They were the dregs of society, children thrown out on the street. Who were thrown out by their parents, who ran away from them. And how did Makarenko's students come to life? Leading manufacturers, wonderful families, wonderful people. In a few years of living in the commune, 98% of the students turned from thieves, liars and prostitutes into decent and decent people. It seems that we can't talk about any fatal impact of childhood injuries.

Yes, in unfavorable conditions, children develop bad habits. With the right upbringing, these bad habits change to other habits that make them worthy people. Everything is possible, you just need to be able to educate.