Measures and References: Adverse Experiences

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Measures

Numerous measures exist to gain a full picture of a student's learning strengths and challenges. Following are examples of measures used to assess this Learner Factor. These measures should be administered and interpreted by experienced professionals.

Brief Trauma Questionnaire (Schnurr et al., 2002): Self-report questionnaire to assess exposure to various traumatic experiences such as accidents, combat, illness, abuse, and natural disasters.

Perceived Racial Discrimination (e.g., Chou et al., 2012): Self-report questionnaire to assess experiences with discriminatory acts such as being insulted or treated with less respect than other people.

References

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Babson, K. A., & Feldner, M. T. (2010). Temporal relations between sleep problems and both traumatic event exposure and PTSD: a critical review of the empirical literature. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24(1), 1-15.

Backhaus, I., Lipson, S. K., Fisher, L. B., Kawachi, I., & Pedrelli, P. (2019). Sexual assault, sense of belonging, depression and suicidality among LGBQ and heterosexual college students. Journal of American College Health, 1-9.

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Bremner, J. D. (2003). Long-term effects of childhood abuse on brain and neurobiology. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 12(2), 271-292.

Bremner, J. D., Randall, P., Scott, T. M., Capelli, S., Delaney, R., McCarthy, G., & Charney, D. S. (1995). Deficits in short-term memory in adult survivors of childhood abuse. Psychiatry Research, 59(1-2), 97-107.

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Buckmiller, T. (2010). Contradictions and conflicts: understanding the lived experiences of Native American adult learners in a predominantly white American university. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 12(3), 6-18.

Chaney, J. R., & Schwartz, J. (2020). Reintegrating formerly incarcerated citizens. Explorations in Adult Higher Education, 43-60.

Chou, T., Asnaani, A., & Hofmann, S. G. (2012). Perception of racial discrimination and psychopathology across three US ethnic minority groups. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 18(1), 74-81.

Comings, J. P. (2008). Student persistence in adult literacy and numeracy programs. In S. Reder & J. Brynner (Eds.), Tracking adult literacy and numeracy skills: Findings from longitudinal research (pp. 180-196). New York, NY: Routledge.

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Ferrara, A. M., & Panlilio, C. C. (2020). The role of metacognition in explaining the relationship between early adversity and reading comprehension. Children and Youth Services Review, 112, 104884.

Finn, H. B. (2010). Overcoming barriers: Adult refugee trauma survivors in a learning community. TESOL Quarterly, 44(3), 586-596.

Greenberg, D. M., Baron-Cohen, S., Rosenberg, N., Fonagy, P., & Rentfrow, P. J. (2018). Elevated empathy in adults following childhood trauma. PLoS One, 13(10), e0203886.

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Jernigan, M. M., & Daniel, J. H. (2011). Racial trauma in the lives of Black children and adolescents: Challenges and clinical implications. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 4(2), 123-141.

Johnson, R. (2018). Trauma and learning: impacts and strategies for adult classroom success. MinneTESOL Journal, 34(2).

Lacoviello, B. M., & Charney, D. S. (2014). Psychosocial facets of resilience: Implications for preventing posttrauma psychopathology, treating trauma survivors, and enhancing community resilience. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 5(1), 23970.

Majer, M., Nater, U. M., Lin, J. M. S., Capuron, L., & Reeves, W. C. (2010). Association of childhood trauma with cognitive function in healthy adults: a pilot study. BMC Neurology, 10(1), 61.

McFarlane, A. C. (2010). The long‐term costs of traumatic stress: Intertwined physical and psychological consequences. World Psychiatry, 9(1), 3-10.

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Samplin, E., Ikuta, T., Malhotra, A. K., Szeszko, P. R., & DeRosse, P. (2013). Sex differences in resilience to childhood maltreatment: Effects of trauma history on hippocampal volume, general cognition and subclinical psychosis in healthy adults. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 47(9), 1174-1179.

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Schnurr, P.P., Spiro, A. III, Vielhauer, M.J., Findler, M.N., & Hamblen, J.L. (2002). Trauma in the lives of older men: Findings from the Normative Aging Study. Journal of Clinical Geropsychology, 8, 175-187.

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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau. (2002-2019). Child maltreatment 2000-2017. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/research-data-technology/statistics-research/child-maltreatment.

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Van Ingen, E., & Matzat, U. (2018). Inequality in mobilizing online help after a negative life event: the role of education, digital skills, and capital-enhancing Internet use. Information, Communication & Society, 21(4), 481-498.