By Christina Sáez, Photo: Kirill Balobanov/ Unsplash, MedicalXpress, January 23, 2023
In 2021 alone, it is estimated that one billion children around the world experienced some kind of violence or neglect, ranging from sexual to physical or emotional abuse. Such experiences during childhood represent a significant risk to children's physical and mental health and shorten their life expectancy.
In this regard, an international study in which the UOC has participated provides, for the first time, scientific evidence showing that carrying out a mindfulness-type meditation intervention, in combination with artistic expression activities and psychological therapy for trauma, is beneficial for adolescents who have suffered from traumatic experiences.
The results of this work, published on an open-source basis in Scientific Reports, show that this approach gives rise to epigenetic changes in trauma-sensitive biological pathways associated with a significant reduction in post-traumatic stress symptoms. Given the risk of intergenerational transmission of abusive and cruel behavior, these results could represent a way of interrupting intergenerational cycles of suffering.
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