Trauma and mental health difficulties
Changes and adaptations in the brain that help a child survive traumatic events can make them more vulnerable to mental health problems. Traumatic events tend not to result in immediate diagnosable mental health difficulties. Instead, over time, brains adapted to survival may struggle to thrive, especially where traumas have not been processed or resolved or are ongoing so that the child experiences toxic levels of stress. This can impact a child’s well-being and mental health and this unseen link between brain adaptations for survival and mental health is called latent vulnerability.
It is thought latent vulnerability exists because these young people are more susceptible to stress than their peers due to their heightened stress response. They also can often continue to experience and generate more stress than peers over time. An example of this is if they are not supported to develop pro-social skills and/or the ability to self-regulate which can compound difficulties they may have making and maintaining positive relationships. In turn this heightens their risks of developing mental ill health as they may experience loneliness or rejection by peers.
This video explains latent vulnerability in more detail.