Can Childhood Trauma Make You Sick?

A panel featuring KQET's Sarah Varney, the Bayview Child Health Center's Nadine Burke Harris, San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center director Katie Albright, and Robin Karr-Morse, author of Scared Sick: The Role of Childhood Trauma in Adult Disease, discussed what childhood trauma is, how it can be treated and prevented, and its effects on the health of adults. Children who experience chronic exposure to abuse, neglect, and violence are at greatly increased risk for illnesses ranging from heart disease and hepatitis to addictive behaviors like IV drug use.