The young mind is a malleable and highly vulnerable entity with which trauma can dramatically influence with long-lasting effects. While both boys and girls are prone to posttraumatic stress disorder, evidence shows that females tend to experience greater effects from traumatic events than their male counterparts. When asking the question of whether boys and girls respond similarly to post-traumatic interventions, it is important to note that although females are wounded greater due to their emotional capacity, both males and females experience a measurable minimization of potentially damaging symptoms as a result of treatment. Ultimately, however, females are in a category of their own. Not only are females doubly likely to be diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder than their male counterparts, they are also more likely to experience greater levels of posttraumatic symptoms even after treatment. This research is significant because it reminds us to maintain treatment courses, with a specific focus on females in particular, in order to meet their unique emotional and mental needs.
Although both sensitive and vulnerable human beings, there are clear distinctions between males and females. Copious amounts of research have all attested to the fact that there are “clear gender differences in the prevalence PTSD in adults” (Craig and Sprang 928). For one, females are much more likely to be victims of sexual assault than males. Such an experience is easily one of the most traumatic and injurious to both inward self-esteem and outward coping skills, while also being regularly “associated with the onset of anxiety-spectrum disorders” (Craig and Sprang 928). Furthermore, while males tend to project outwardly, women tend to turn blame inward, causing even more damage to their psyche regardless of who was actually responsible for the event. When dealt with danger or trauma, boys and girls’ fight-or-flight reactions are quite literally carried out differently, with “sympathetic and noradrenergic systems [] activating in different measures (Craig and Sprang 929). The consequent sense and conviction that the world is a dangerous and unsafe place can also pave the way for a mistrust of not only others but of self. All of these unique, neurobiological differentiations between male and female victims of trauma are clear indicators that the two cannot be treated exactly the same.
This matter weighs heavily on me because of its far-reaching implications in the way in which trauma must be identified and dealt with. If healing is the goal, the methods must be catered according to certain needs, particularly if they are biological. One method of operation will not suffice for both boys and girls due to their differences in emotional and mental makeup. The reasoning behind the argument is sound because it is supported by explicit evidence. If given sufficient time, money and resources, an additional experiment would be beneficial in truly identifying the root causes of trauma and the most effective ways in which to deal with it with both boys and girls. Although females may interpret and experiment trauma on a greater level, they also tend to be more willing and able “to engage in and benefit from many trauma treatments” (Craig and Sprang 929). Greater amounts of attentive, patient and present individuals would be involved in the treatment of females who have been traumatized. Steady and unconditional love and presence will provide them with the safe space needed to expose deep wounds and express all buried emotions, exposing them to the light without judgment or reproach. This process of healing, I believe, will dramatically impact the levels of posttraumatic symptoms in females.
Works Cited
Craig, Carlton D., and Ginny Sprang. "Gender Differences in Trauma Treatment: Do Boys and Girls Respond to Evidence-Based Interventions in the Same Way?" Violence and Victims Violence 29.6 (2014): 927-39. Web. 6 Feb. 2016.
