Childhood experience significantly influences the development of adult personality. The reviewed works of Hampson et al. (2016) and Merritt (2022) study the connection between latent and active trauma experienced at a young age with adult traits, health problems, and perception of the world. The primary idea is that there is an evident interdependence between traumatic events and character development over the years. Related events trigger the latent trauma later (Merrit, 2020). 831 Hawaii cohort members participated in the research of Hampson et al. (2016). In the 1960s, teachers assessed children on their personality characteristics, and in 2008 the results were measured again in a questionnaire. The second work is based on the author’s experience with the autoethnographic approach (Merritt, 2022).
The first study focused on the trauma that occurred during different periods: before 12 years, at the age of 12-17, and after 18 years. The results of the pre-trauma period of age 6-14 were compared with personality, with the mean age during the experiment being 51 (Hampson et al., 2016). The research scale corresponded to the Big Five traits before and after traumatic situations. Research shows a positive correlation between trauma and some Big Traits, such as childhood neuroticism and openness correlate to trauma during life. Adult neuroticism increases with the level of trauma, and this childhood trait leads to the risk of trauma. At the same time, conscientiousness under harmful events could lead to metabolic and cardiovascular problems often related to obesity (Hampson et al., 2016).
Another point is the traumatic experience during infancy and toddlerhood. Merritt (2022) examines the taxonomy of trauma, including unspoken or preverbal trauma that may be inactive throughout life. Scholar explores the triggering events, such as childbirth or reunion with biological parents, as mechanisms of latent trauma in adulthood for adopted people (Merritt, 2022). The results show that the latent form exists as a subconscious form that may be awakened only through personal triggers, and there are no generic forms of revealing it.
Consequently, the researchers believe that their works contribute to further developing the problem. Hampson et al. (2016) developed a field for expanding the methods according to gender to examine the importance of personality and trauma experience for men and women. Merritt (2022) stated that the results helped to reveal the effect of mirroring events on old trauma for adopted people. Therefore, the studied works provide a starting point for deeper investigation.
Reference
Hampson, S. E., Edmonds, G. W., Goldberg, L. R., Barckley, M., Klest, B., Dubanoski, J. P., & Hillier, T. A. (2016). Lifetime trauma, personality traits, and health: A pathway to midlife health status. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy, 8(4), 447– 454.
Merritt, M. (2022). Rediscovering latent trauma: An adopted adult’s perspective.Child Abuse & Neglect, 130(2).