The power of

relationships
Elizabeth Cifuentes and Emma
Lalaian
Our Topic
How do parental relationships affect children?
● I ask this because I watch as my parents
raise my baby sister and see how she
observes and mimics all that they do. We all
have parents and they are the people we
instinctively look up to and depend on from
day one. As their children, we see the good
things and the bad things, but I wonder if
they ever realize the way they treat each
other can harm or benefit their children.
What are the effects of trauma on relationships?
● I chose this question because trauma isn’t
rare but people often don’t know the full
impact it can have on relationships and
how it can be harmful. This question is
important because everyone goes through
some form of trauma without even
knowing, so it's important to know the signs
of trauma and how they can be harming
the future. It’s important to understand
where both partners are coming from and
how they can work together to better the
relationship.
Why this topic?
● The people that are around us have a big impact on who we are as people, and one of the biggest
influences in our life is our parents. I chose the this topic because I know we’ve grown up to follow our
parents rules and do as they say, but I don’t think we ever really realize the way they act towards each
other has an affect on us. This should be cared about because it can be something you may be
ignorant to. Some of the things you see from your parents can be mimicked in your own life, and if that
should be a harmful thing, it should be noticed now and not later by harming someone you love. Not
one relationship is perfect, but there is a point where it will begin to harm those around you.
● People through different types of trauma and stress but often they leave it unresolved and aren’t
aware of the impact it has on their relationships. This important for people who have suffered trauma
and for people who are in a relationship with someone who has experienced trauma or extreme
stress.
What we learned from our research
● Through my research, I learned the different ways trauma can impact a relationship such as not being
able to fully trust their partner and not being able to emotionally connect. Also when people leave
trauma unresolved it can cause them to push their insecurities onto their partners and paint them in a
bad light which can be very harmful. I also learned that there are so many that healing from trauma
can happen but first a person has to acknowledge their feelings that they need help. But trauma isn’t
also bad, once people learn how to heal from the trauma they realize that it has made them stronger
and can give them a great appreciation for the people in their lives.
● Throughout the research I conducted, there has been a overall hypothesis that has now been
confirmed called the “spillover”. This states, however the parents act towards the other in front of a
child will “spillover” into the child’s behavior and future choices, as well as relationships. Anything
traumatizing to the child will stand out and be carried by him/her unless resolved in front of them in a
healthy way. If it isn’t this child may develop their own unhealthy ways of how to act in a relationship.
But as them individually, they can begin to form anxiety, fear, depressions, aggressiveness, etc. This
has been seen in multiple families, and should be something that all parents and children should be
aware of.
Our Website

https://eecivicengagement.ucraft.site/
Awareness
● It's important to bring awareness to this topic because often people don’t take their mental health
seriously and believe that they can deal with everything on their own or that their experiences had no
effect on how they are. Trauma changes people and it's important to understand the new version of
yourself. It's also important to bring awareness to help normalize asking for help, reaching out isn’t a
size of weakness but a sign of strength.
● Our solution to this is to help educate people, but to also help them with resources to get help. Parents
need to become more aware of how their actions affect their children. Often, parents believe that their
issues don't or should affect the children, but the reality is they do one way or another. We want to
educate parents on the signs of their children being affected and knowing how to help. This is not only
to bring awareness to parents, but to us as their children. You may look at the signs that we’ve listed
and could possibly have one of them. This could be a cause as to why, so I hope this can be self-
reflectant on you and simply the relationship between your parents or the one’s you have
● Disaster distress hotline: .1-800-985-5990
Knowledge Acquired?
Now let's test what you learned about the impact of parents and trauma.
https://play.kahoot.it/v2/lobby?quizId=61974d48-283f-48bb-a22e-7abc71dfcd6a
Sources
Emma’s:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mindful-anger/201708/4-ways-traumatic-childhood-affe
cts-adult-relationships
.

https://brickelandassociates.com/trauma-survivor-relationships/

https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/common-therapy-approaches-to-help-you-heal-from-trauma

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mindful-self-express/201908/how-traumas-create-n
egative-patterns-in-relationships
.

https://www.hartgrovehospital.com/trauma-effect-relationships/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-path-passionate-happiness/201606/how-trauma-ca
n-lead-positive-change
Sources
Elizabeth’s:

www.familyeducation.com/life/healthy-marriage/how-your-marriage-affects-your-children

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4128411/

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.psych.51.1.1

www.parentingni.org/blog/parent-child-relationship-why-its-important/#:%7E:text=Helps%20the%20child%2
0exhibit%20optimistic,2C%20cognitive%2C%20and%20motivational%20development
.

https://ifstudies.org/blog/how-parents-relationship-quality-affects-kids

https://ifstudies.org/blog/how-parental-conflict-hurts-kids