CTC Child Development & Trauma Impact 3

Question 1

According to Piaget, a 6-year-old trauma survivor who believes the abuse was their fault is demonstrating which cognitive characteristic?

Accepted Answer

Preoperational egocentrism

Answer

Children in the preoperational stage are egocentric and tend to believe events—including trauma—revolve around or are caused by themselves.

Question 2

Prolonged childhood trauma most commonly leads to which alteration in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis?

Accepted Answer

Blunted cortisol reactivity and flattened diurnal rhythm

Answer

Chronic trauma often dysregulates the HPA axis, resulting in blunted cortisol response and disrupted diurnal cortisol rhythms rather than perpetual elevation.

Question 3

A teenager with a childhood trauma history presents with impulsivity, poor planning, and difficulty learning from consequences. Which brain region's development is most impacted?

Accepted Answer

Prefrontal cortex

Answer

Trauma impairs maturation of the prefrontal cortex, which governs executive functions such as impulse control, planning, and consequence learning.

Question 4

Which term describes the phenomenon where a traumatized child's emotional age is younger than their chronological age?

Accepted Answer

Trauma-induced regression

Answer

Trauma-induced regression occurs when stress causes a child to revert emotionally or behaviorally to an earlier developmental stage.

Question 5

In Bruce Perry's Neurosequential Model, which sequence correctly represents the order in which the brain should be addressed in trauma treatment?

Accepted Answer

Regulatory → Relational → Cognitive

Answer

Perry's Neurosequential Model prescribes addressing lower brain functions (regulation) first, then relational capacity, and finally higher cortical (cognitive) processing.

(CTC) Childhood Trauma Consultant Certified Practice Test

(CTC) Childhood Trauma Consultant Certified Practice Test

CTC Child Development & Trauma Impact 3