CWEL Child Development and Trauma 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When interviewing a child who may have been sexually abused, which interviewing approach is recommended to minimize contamination of the child's disclosure?
- Ask leading questions to help the child tell their story more easily
- Use open-ended, non-leading questions and follow the child's narrative (Correct answer)
- Confront the child with evidence of abuse to obtain a confession
- Allow parents to be present to make the child feel safe
Correct answer: Use open-ended, non-leading questions and follow the child's narrative
Forensic interviews use open-ended, non-leading questions to allow the child to provide their own narrative without suggestion, protecting the integrity of any disclosure for legal purposes.
Question 2: What is 'developmental age' and why is it relevant in child welfare assessments?
- The legal age at which a child can testify in court
- A child's functional level of development, which may differ from their chronological age due to trauma or neglect (Correct answer)
- The age at which a child becomes eligible for independent living services
- The age used to determine appropriate foster care payment rates
Correct answer: A child's functional level of development, which may differ from their chronological age due to trauma or neglect
Developmental age refers to a child's functional level across domains (cognitive, emotional, social, physical), which may lag behind chronological age when children have experienced deprivation or trauma.
Question 3: A teenager in foster care who engages in self-harm behavior such as cutting is most likely doing so because:
- They are seeking attention from foster parents and caseworkers
- Self-harm may be a maladaptive coping mechanism to manage overwhelming emotional pain or trauma (Correct answer)
- They were taught this behavior by peers in foster care
- They are manipulating the system to avoid school
Correct answer: Self-harm may be a maladaptive coping mechanism to manage overwhelming emotional pain or trauma
Self-harm is typically a maladaptive coping strategy where individuals use physical pain to manage overwhelming emotions, often rooted in unprocessed trauma and an inability to self-regulate.
Question 4: Which childhood experience is most likely to result in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?
- Moving to a new school
- Chronic exposure to domestic violence, sexual abuse, or severe physical abuse (Correct answer)
- A parent's temporary unemployment
- A minor injury requiring a hospital visit
Correct answer: Chronic exposure to domestic violence, sexual abuse, or severe physical abuse
Chronic interpersonal trauma such as domestic violence exposure, sexual abuse, or severe physical abuse is among the most potent triggers of PTSD and complex trauma responses in children.
Question 5: What is meant by 'secondary traumatic stress' in the context of child welfare practice?
- Stress experienced by children who witness abuse of siblings
- Trauma symptoms experienced by workers as a result of their exposure to clients' traumatic experiences (Correct answer)
- Stress caused by secondary placement disruptions in foster care
- The long-term effects of early trauma appearing in adulthood
Correct answer: Trauma symptoms experienced by workers as a result of their exposure to clients' traumatic experiences
Secondary traumatic stress (also called compassion fatigue) refers to trauma symptoms—intrusion, avoidance, hyperarousal—that workers develop through indirect exposure to clients' trauma.
Question 6: Which developmental theory explains that children learn through observation and imitation of others in their environment, which is relevant to understanding intergenerational patterns of abuse?
- Piaget's cognitive developmental theory
- Bandura's social learning theory (Correct answer)
- Erikson's psychosocial development theory
- Bowlby's attachment theory
Correct answer: Bandura's social learning theory
Bandura's social learning theory explains that children learn behaviors, including aggressive and abusive behaviors, by observing and imitating models—relevant to understanding why abuse can be transmitted intergenerationally.
CWEL Child Development and Trauma 2
When interviewing a child who may have been sexually abused, which interviewing approach is recommended to minimize contamination of the child's disclosure?