Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-1-2021
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Criminal Justice and Legal Studies
First Advisor
Brian Boutwell
Second Advisor
D'Andre Walker
Third Advisor
Abby Novak
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
Everyday in the United States, a child experiences a traumatic event. Autoimmune disease is one of the top two leading causes of death in the United States. Can these two horrifying events be connected? Autoimmune diseases currently affect millions of Americans and are considered an epidemic because of their prevalence within the adult population. Even with a high number of cases, this possible connection has been largely ignored and under researched for the history of modern medicine. However, two studies have begun to make the connection between adverse childhood experiences and how that affects the onset of autoimmune diseases in adulthood. This field of medicine is under-researched even though it may be the key to understanding the physiological or physical cause of suffering for millions of Americans. Childhood trauma may be the missing key to understanding the cause of adulthood autoimmune disease. With the prevalence of childhood traumatic experiences and autoimmune diseases, the reason for this lack of research is unexplainable, however it opens to door to future studies regarding the possible affect of childhood trauma on autoimmune disease development.
Recommended Citation
Molden, Emma J., "Adverse Childhood Experiences and their Connection to Autoimmune Disease in Adulthood" (2021). Honors Theses. 1606.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1606
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