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The aftermath of child trauma exposure affects all spheres of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model. As discussed in the results section of this study (Chapter 4), the symptomology that develops subsequent to trauma exposure are greater when the child’s word view is impaired. The attributions that the trauma exposed child manifests can provide useful insight into the effects on the interrelated systems of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model. When the perpetrator of the trauma is personally known and shares a relationship with the victim, the effect is much greater than would be the case in a natural disaster or war, for instance. Often the perpetrator is located within the child’s microsystem, which is where a child is supposed to experience a sense of safety and security in order to ensure optimum development (Santrock, 2009). In the microsystem the child interacts with the world, for example, at school and in the home environment and when the trauma occurs within this system, it may potentially shatter the experience of trust, safety and security. The negative worldview that a traumatised child may develop is then reflective in the chronosystem. As it is believed that trauma symptomology and especially trauma of a continuous nature results in a heightened risk for future trauma exposure. This increases the risk that the child will grow up to be an adult with negative ideologies and worldviews.

94 As is prominent in the literature and in the findings of this study, the challenges with regard to the diagnosis and treatment of traumatised children have been present for many years. Individuals such as mental health care practitioners, teachers and parents in the exosystem have not been able to fully conceptualise the symptoms that follow post trauma. For example it is well known that in South Africa many children fall victim to abuse of some kind; it is also well known that teachers in South Africa struggle greatly with what is often referred to as “bad behaviour”. There is a strong likelihood that labelled behaviour in South African schools reflect the trauma exposure of the child and that the behaviours are just part of the symptoms. This in turn directly influences the mesosystems; in terms of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, the mesosystem involves the interaction between the microsystem and the mesosystem (Santrock, 2009). As a result, children exposed to trauma are at risk of not receiving the correct and most effective forms of treatment. As discussed in Chapter 4, children exposed to trauma may also present with somatic symptoms, which may erroneously be dismissed as illness or bad behaviour by the child. If a clear set of symptoms can be identified, then, after a child has been exposed to trauma, then it will enable caregivers, parents, teachers and health workers to recognise these symptoms when they appear and to begin to see through the eyes of the child. This will enable the interaction between the exosystem and mesosytem to be more effective and thus contribute to the mental health and well-being of the traumatised child.

Nonetheless, the findings of this study also revealed how the different systems within Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model may contribute to the resilience of trauma exposed children. A safe and secure home environment and thus the experience of a healthy and functioning mesosystem contribute to the resilience of the traumatised child. The results also discussed how individuals exposed to trauma go through processes within themselves, such as the desensitising that occurs within dreams to overcome the trauma. In essence, all systems within the ecological model of Bronfenbrenner may be helpful in understanding the healing process after a child has been exposed to trauma. Yet it also has the potential to fail the needs of the traumatised child completely; as the systems may provide support and healing for a traumatised child or it may provide an experience of being revictimised.

Based on the findings and objectives of this study, the following conclusions can be drawn:  Negative worldview: Trauma exposure during childhood involves attributions that

contribute to a negative worldview on the part of the child.  

95  Complex symptomology: The symptoms that develop in children after they have been exposed to trauma are complex and vastly differ from the set of symptoms seen in adults.

 Misdiagnosis: Many children failed to receive a correct diagnosis after being exposed to trauma, which in turn prevents the implementation of effective treatment procedures.

 Understudied population: Children and adolescents exposed to trauma are a greatly understudied population; this was reiterated by various authors in the articles reviewed herein, and is moreover evident as many articles had to be excluded since they focused only on adults.

 Unrecognised symptoms: As noted in the findings, children exposed to trauma may present with somatic symptoms which are not always recognised as being a result of trauma, and this may contribute to misdiagnosis.

 Impact on development: One of the main reasons why children exhibit different symptoms than adults when exposed to trauma is the difference in their developmental makeup. Trauma exposure during childhood has the potential to have a negative impact on the child’s developmental competence and contribute to neurobiological alterations.

 Resilience: Children are tremendously resilient and may often overcome massive trauma; however, the resilience largely depends on the state and level of healthy functioning systems that surround the child.