In its simplest form, trauma can be defined as an individual’s emotional response to a distressing situation. Traumatic events often occur suddenly and feel beyond a person’s control – leaving them with a persistent feeling that catastrophe could happen at any moment.
We don’t often talk about trauma in US college recruitment and financial aid offices, but we should. Many high school students are approaching a decision about where to attend college – or if they should attend at all – filled with financial trauma.
Today’s high school seniors were in preschool when the Great Recession cratered the US economy. Some of them have strong memories of being moved from a foreclosed home to a small apartment, or seeing their parents struggle greatly. Their reactions to these events may fall into the psychological definition of acute trauma: “intense distress in the immediate aftermath of a one-time event”.
Then…
