Running Head: LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 1

Effects of Trauma-Based Learned Helplessness on Close Relationships

Word Count: 4542

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 2

Introduction

The theory of learned helplessness was constructed by a renowned psychologist, Dr.

Martin E. P. Seligman in 1965. Seligman carried out experiments on dogs in which he

administered electric shocks and observed how the dogs behaved over time. The first shocks that

were administered were done so that the dogs could not stop them from happening. In the next

part of the experiment, shocks were given but the dogs had a simple way out. Instead, the dogs

gave up, laid down, and accepted the shocks. From these controversial experiments, Seligman

developed the learned helplessness theory (Learned Helplessness: Seligman's Theory and

Depression, 2020). The learned helplessness theory is described by Psychology Today as “when

an individual continuously faces a negative, uncontrollable situation and stops trying to change

their circumstances, even when they have the ability to do so.” Helplessness can come out as

symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD (Learned Helplessness, n.d.). This problem can lead

to a victim mentality in some individuals and a lack of motivation. This can be a large issue as

mental health issues can stem from this and create a cycle that keeps individuals in a depression.

One in five adults struggle with mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental

Illness, so it is essential that all of the factors of mental health are being discussed.

Literature Review

A study conducted by Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Martin E. P. Seligman, and Joan S. Girgus

in 1986, looked at the learned helplessness in children by looking at what significant events they

had experienced and asking their teachers to report on the students’ practices of learned

helplessness. It was found that there were significant correlations between the children's reported
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 3

helplessness behaviors and their performance in the classroom. Seligman also worked with Lyn

Y. Abramson and John D. Teasdale (1978) to look at the 1972 study and compare it to newer

information and theories. They give examples of learned helplessness in different situations and

analyze the outcomes of many different quantitative and qualitative studies. One of these

consisted of volunteer college students who were split into groups. One group was exposed to a

noise that they could terminate, another was exposed to a noise that they could not terminate, and

the last was not exposed to any noise. Later the same students were all exposed to the same noise

that they could easily terminate. As a result of this, post-traumatic the students that previously

could not control the noise just sat and listened to it while the other groups turned it off. This

study is very important because it simplifies what happens to the human brain when faced with

uncontrollable adversities. Further, into the study, the subjects were tasked with solvable puzzles,

but the group that had been initially exposed to the uncontrollable noise was again more likely to

give up. This is explained as either personal or universal helplessness. Either the subject believes

that they are not smart enough to solve the puzzle (personal helplessness), or the puzzle is simply

unsolvable (universal helplessness) (Abramson et al., 1978). This gives a scientific background

and history of the learned helplessness theory. These studies are applied in a more recent analysis

of human behavior such as in author and behavioral scientist, David Emerald Wameldorff’s

(2010) The Power of TED (The Empowerment Dynamic) and the analysis of playing different

roles of conflict every day. The conflict revolves around the victim, who has likely faced

adversities and lacks the ability to take accountability because they suffer from learned

helplessness. Learned helplessness is shown to be the tendency to give up in general when faced

with challenges due to past traumas (Seligman, 1978), while the victim mentality is more of a

result of learned helplessness as a response to these challenges. Victim mentality is when an

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 4

individual feels victimized by a persecutor. This persecutor could be anything from another

individual, to the world. The victim may feel the need to be rescued because they don't believe

that they have what it takes to solve the “puzzles'' that they may get into; they may feel helpless

(Emerald, 2010). Trauma coming from uncontrollable events leads to the belief of those with

learned helplessness to give up when faced with difficult situations that they can control.

Children who have suffered abuse, and the elderly who have repeatedly suffered events that were

not in their control may hold the belief that they are at fault and there is nothing that they can do

to change that. Professor and Head of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry at Narayana Dental

College, Sivakumar Nuvvula observed that patients with various types of trauma exhibit forms of

helplessness while they are at the dentist. Nuvvula suggests that to avoid this, dentists must be

able to communicate with patients and allow them control by giving them choices (Nuvvula,

2016). This observation is crucial to the progress of how the world deals with trauma and mental

health issues. Learned helplessness was found to be present in about the same amount between

girls and boys in a study looking specifically at high school students and their schoolwork in

mathematics (Parsons, 1982). This looked at how well they did in their mathematics classes, and

how they perceived the work that they did, and their attitudes. This shows that learned

helplessness can happen to anyone of any gender.

Kathleen P. Allen is a former teacher with a Ph.D. in education and human development

who conducts professional research on bullying and bullying prevention in schools (Alberti

Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention, 2021). She conducted one study in which students at a

high school, as well as the teaching staff, were surveyed and interviewed on the topic of bullying

over text, also known as cyberbullying, within the local high school. The quantitative data

collected showed very little report of bullying by the students. However, the qualitative
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interviews showed that there is some conflict that happens constantly in the student population.

The discussion concluded that conflict can lead to bullying, and bullying can happen in subtle

ways (Allen, 2012). This study provides a basis for a cause of learned helplessness in students as

it pertains to social issues, as some students reported issues with socializing if they had been

bullied online. Students may not recognize bullying as it is portrayed in movies, but social

conflict, harmful commentary, and gossip, as shown in a study done on adults in a workplace,

setting can be traumatic. Bullying is not a formally recognized cause of Post Traumatic Stress

Disorder commonly known as PTSD, but it has been observed that the effects of bullying can

appear to be a lot like the symptoms of PTSD. In a study conducted by a licensed psychologist,

Noreen Tehrani, a survey was conducted in which adults were asked if they had experienced

bullying. Out of those who had, about a quarter of them exhibited signs of PTSD. These signs

and symptoms included avoidance, arousal, and reexperience (Tehrani, 2004.) These PTSD

symptoms can also be seen as a sign of learned helplessness, as some people list that they may

avoid situations involving other people. This could possibly be a result of a feeling of

helplessness due to the trauma that bullying brought on. Many adversities affect people in a

variety of ways, and something that may not be considered traumatic to one individual, may be

traumatic to another. These two studies that were done on bullying open a direct link between

trauma-based learned helplessness and its effects on one's social life.

An extensive study conducted by a professor at the City University of New York

Graduate Center, Diane M. Price Banks, recently looked into the issue of learned helplessness.

The study related to performance and self-esteem in education in the STEM majors included a

survey questionnaire that touched on the amount of positive or negative coping skills a person

uses. This is important to discuss because if one is coping with trauma in a negative way (denial,
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 6

drugs, alcohol, and disengagement), they may behave with characteristics of learned helplessness

(Price Banks, 2020). The results of this study show that 93.75% of the students surveyed had a

moderate to severe risk of experiencing the characteristics of learned helplessness throughout

their education. This result shows a clear and urgent problem in that high school students are

likely to be in this same position soon as many of them are moving towards furthering their

education. Limiting the ability of the study, Price Banks states “Many students opted to

discontinue the study as a result of being overwhelmed by the workload in many of their courses.

Many participants failed to communicate with the researcher about dropping out of college or

discontinuing attendance during the semester.” This further highlights the importance of this

problem as it could be seen as a result of learned helplessness.

In a qualitative study, couples were interviewed to discuss their trauma and how it

affected their relationship with their partners. Different behaviors were looked at such as

communication and intimacy in relation to past trauma (Goff, 2006). Reasons for worse

communication and avoidance of intimacy could be personal helplessness in response to trauma.

An example of this would be adversities that the subjects of this study could have faced that may

have caused their personal view that they are not good enough for their partner. In another study,

Israeli psychologists, Neta Bargai, Gershon Ben-Shakhar, and Arieh Y. Shalev, looked at women

who had been through abusive relationships. It is suggested in this study that a lot of learned

helplessness behaviors stem from repetitive trauma such as abuse in a relationship. In this study

specifically, prior traumas of violence and/or abuse are included as a precursor to abusive

relationships. It was found that the women studied who had PTSD and/or depressive symptoms,

also had tendencies of learned helplessness (Bargai et. al, 2007). Even though this was a study

done in the middle east, domestic violence in the United States is a widespread issue. In the US,
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 7

1 in every 3 women have experienced one form or another of violence carried out by a partner,

and 1 in every 4 men have experienced the same. 1 in every 15 children has been exposed to this

domestic violence which can be very traumatic and have long-lasting impacts (The National

Coalition Against Domestic Violence, n.d).

Overall, it has been shown that those with PTSD, depression, or other mental health

disorders have a higher risk of learned helplessness in multiple studies. These mental health

issues have symptoms including helplessness and hopelessness as well as feelings of detachment

from both friends and family according to the Mayo Clinic website, which was last updated in

2021.

Some people have looked into solutions or remedies to the learned helplessness problem

especially within the school system. It is stressed in an article written by a team including an

education consultant, a school psychologist, an experienced English teacher/author, Debbie

Zacarian, Lourdes Alvarez-Ortiz, and Judie Haynes, that building trusting relationships with

students is crucial. Over the teams’ professional years of experience, it is noted that children with

trauma have a more difficult time building relationships with others in the classroom (Zacarian

et. al, 2020). David Emerald Wamelldorff explains his creation “The Empowerment Dynamic”

(Emerald, 2010) which combats the effects of learned helplessness. It promotes changing the

way people think about situations that are out of their control and reacting positively and

productively. Someone stuck in a victim mentality, may be suffering from learned helplessness as

Abramson was able to conclude with the help of Seligman and their other colleagues. They may

think the world is against them, or that they are not good enough to deal with the situation that

they are in. Wamelldorff gives solutions that involve changing one's way of thinking to escape
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 8

the cycle that keeps people living in a depressive and helpless state of mind. The solutions

provided by Zacarian and her colleagues, and Wamelldorff (Emerald) show that it is a societal

effort to combat the issue of learned helplessness.

Looking at all of the information that is provided it is clear that trauma-based learned

helplessness may be a serious issue within the student population at Brainerd High School. It has

been shown to affect people from elementary (Seligman, 1986) to college (Price Banks, 2020).

The study on high school students looked at if students present learned helplessness in their

school work due to educational challenges (Qian, 1995). With rising concerns with mental health

in the world today, the issue of learned helplessness is important to address at a local level. Many

of the studies done have looked into academic performance as a measurement of learned

helplessness, but the risks of learned helplessness go beyond performance in the classroom.

People can be affected in many different ways by traumatic experiences, and it is important to

measure the effects of trauma-based learned helplessness on multiple levels including

performance socially.

Methodology

For this experiment, an exploratory approach was used to look at the issue of learned

helplessness in the Brainerd High School as well as the students' close relationships. A

convenience sample survey consisting of 16 questions regarding the demographics of the

population, trauma, learned helplessness, and close relationships was sent to the student

population of Brainerd High School (grades 9-12). The survey was developed by using Google

Forms, and a link was used to access this form through the students’ school emails. The survey

contained questions specific to demographics, trauma, mental health, behaviors, and

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 9

relationships. Three demographic questions were asked in order to evaluate the representational

accuracy of the population, which included race/ethnicity, grade, and gender of the participants.

Three questions were asked inquiring about trauma and how much it affected the students. One

of the trauma questions was a checklist that included some of the most common childhood

adversities (Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, n.d.) as well as some from

an official trauma questionnaire (Goodman, 1998). This list included an “other” option because

of the many events/experiences that can be traumatic for people. The other two trauma-related

questions asked students about the extent of the effects of trauma on their lives. Three other

questions inquired about mental health diagnoses, which included PTSD (post-traumatic stress

disorder), depression, and anxiety. Another question asked students to complete a behavioral

checklist derived from parts of a coping mechanisms checklist related to learned helplessness

(Price Banks, 2020). Some parts of this existing checklist were taken out if they related to the

area of inquiry while others were left out. Six questions inquired about the students' close

relationships. Out of these six, three asked about students' relationship with close friends, two

asked about their relationship with a romantic partner, and one asked about familial relations.

One of these questions was eliminated from the analysis due to mass confusion from the

respondents.

Two comparative groups of students were created from the data collected based on their

responses. The comparative groups were made based on three aspects of the answers given. One

group was labeled “Control” and the other was labeled “LH” for higher risk of learned

helplessness. In order to be selected for the control group, respondents were to have either not

indicated trauma at any point in the survey, not listed any negative coping mechanisms, or

indicated that they did not believe that the negative coping mechanisms were a result of trauma.
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 10

For the higher risk of the learned helplessness group (referred to as LH group), participants must

have indicated trauma at some point in the survey, listed negative coping mechanisms, and

indicated that they believed that those coping mechanisms were a possible or definite result of

trauma. The purpose of the formation of the two groups was to compare the students’ answers to

the questions that pertained to close relationships.

In order to compare the significance of the difference between the two groups, a

one-tailed unpaired T-test was used. The alpha value for this test was p=.05. If p<.05 the

difference was statistically significant, while if p>.05 the difference was not statistically

significant. This was done with a 95% confidence interval. The overall research hypothesis was

that the LH group would have significantly fewer or less quality close relationships with friends,

romantic partners, and family compared to the control group. Indications of less-quality or fewer

close relationships would be the following: having a lower number of close friends, spending

less time with friends, not being involved in a romantic relationship, spending less time with a

romantic partner, and not feeling close to family. The null hypothesis to disprove was that there

would be no difference between the two groups at all; alternatively, there would be an

insignificant difference.

Results

A total of 303 students responded to the survey. For the reported grades of respondents

35.3% were freshmen, 18.8% were sophomores, 19.5% were juniors, and 26.4% were seniors.

This means there was a significantly higher response rate from freshman than each of the other

grades, so across the grades the responses were not evenly distributed. Respondents reported

gender as follows: 63.7% of the students identified their gender as female while 31% identified

as male, and 5.3% preferred not to say. This means there was also uneven distribution across
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 11

genders as a significantly higher percentage of respondents were female. For race/ethnicity of the

participants, 94% were White, 1% Hispanic or Latino, 1% Black or African American, 2.6%

were Native American or American Indian, 1% were Asian/Pacific Islander, and .03% were

other/mixed race. These race/ethnicity statistics accurately represent the population at Brainerd

High School, however, they do not represent the population of the state of MN or the country as

a whole.

Between the two groups that were created, the LH group consisted of 152 students

(50.17% of participants), while the control group consisted of 151 students (49.83% of

participants). The 152 students in the LH group were those that indicated trauma, reported

negative coping behaviors, and believed that these behaviors were a result of trauma or they were

unsure. Deviation from any of these conditions put the participants in the control group. Of all

participants 88.78% had indicated trauma in their responses, and 66.34% of the participants

listed negative coping behaviors.

One of the questions that was considered an indication of trauma was at the end of the

survey. This question asked participants how much they feel that trauma affects them in their

day-to-day lives. The participants were to choose between the following answers: None, Little,

Moderately, Greatly, and Very Greatly. If the participants had not listed specific traumatic events

in the checklist but did answer somewhere from moderately to greatly, had negative coping

behaviors listed, and answered that those behaviors were a possible result of trauma, then they

were included in the LH group. Out of the 303 respondents, 25.7% of all participants answered

“None”, 31% answered “Little”, 27.7% answered “Moderately”, 10.6% answered “Greatly”, and

5% answered, “Very Greatly.”

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 12

Data on diagnosed mental health issues that was collected from the students showed that

the students in the LH group were significantly more likely (where p < .05) to have been

diagnosed with either PTSD, depression, or anxiety (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Comparison of Mental Health Diagnoses

In the LH group, 16.4% had been diagnosed with PTSD, 44.1% with depression, and 58% with

an anxiety disorder. This was in contrast with the control group with 2% having been diagnosed

with PTSD, 17.2% with depression, and 20% with anxiety. This information confirms the theory

that learned helplessness is connected to mental health issues.

The groups were established to compare relationships that students have in their lives

between those with signs of learned helplessness and those without. The first relationship that

was looked into was close friendships. One question asked, “How many people do you have in
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 13

your life that you consider to be close friends?” (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Comparison of Number of Close Friends

It was found that those in the LH group were significantly more likely to answer 1-2 friends,

while the control group was more likely to have answered 5+ friends (p<.05). Most respondents

landed in the 3-4 range overall and there was no significant difference between the groups with

that answer. There was also an option to say “None”, and while those in the LH group that

answered with this was over double the number of those in the control group, it was not a

statistically significant difference (p>.05). The second question on close friendships asked “In

the past how often have your close friends changed?” The answer choices consisted of different

periods of time in which the friends would change. Within the answers, an “other” option was

included. The responses received reflected a lot of confusion as many people wrote descriptions

of their relationships in the “other” section making it difficult to quantify and compare results.
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 14

For this reason, this question will be excluded from the analysis. The third question on

friendships asked “Pre-Covid, how often would you spend time outside of school with friends?”

With the hypothesis being that the LH group would have less-quality close relationships, the

answers that were expected would be that the LH group would spend less time with their friends.

(Figure 3)

Figure 3. Comparison of Pre-Covid Time Spent With Friends Outside of School

While there was a higher percentage of the LH group that answered within the 0-1 days a week,

and the control group answered at a higher rate in the 3-7 days a week, there were no significant

differences between the two groups for this question (p>.05).

Another close relationship that was looked into was romantic relationships. One question

asked students if they were in a romantic relationship. The answers to choose from were: “Yes
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 15

(taken)”, “No (single)”, or “Maybe (it's complicated)”. (Figure 4)

Figure 4. Percentage of Respondents In Romantic Relationships.

There was no significant difference found between the two groups for who was in a relationship

or not. Out of those that were in a relationship, how often the partners spend time together was
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 16

also looked at and compared (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Comparison of Time Spent With Romantic Partners Between Groups.

In the chart above, the respondents that answered “Does not apply” are excluded because the

information needed on them is found in Figure 4. There were insignificant differences between

the LH group and the control group in this question for each of the answers (p>.05).

The final close relationship studied was familial relationships. This was calculated by one

question which asked, “Do you consider yourself to be close with your family?” The respondents

had three answers to choose from which were: “Yes - I tell them most things and feel

comfortable doing so”, “No - I do not feel comfortable sharing things with my family”, and
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 17

“Maybe - Somewhere in between.” The data from the two groups was compared. (Figure 6)

Figure 6. Comparison of Familial Closeness Between the Two Groups

There were significant differences between the LH and Control groups in those that answered

“Yes” or “No” (p<.05), but there was not a significant difference between those that answered

“Maybe” (p>.05). The LH group was more likely to not feel comfortable sharing things with

their family members.

Discussion

Overall, the data collected showed definite differences between the LH and Control

groups, which means the null hypothesis can be rejected. However, the data did not show

statistically significant differences for all parts of the survey. It can not be concluded that

trauma-based learned helplessness has or does not have an effect on peer/close friend

relationships or on romantic relationships. While the control group did answer that they had 5+
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 18

close friends at a significantly higher percentage than the LH group, not much can be concluded

about that because of a lack of consistency in the other answers for that question (Figure 2). As

for romantic relationships, even though the LH group was significantly more likely to answer

that they were in a complicated relationship, it can not be said for sure that trauma-based learned

helplessness affects who is in a romantic relationship or not. It can be concluded that

trauma-based learned helplessness does have a significant effect on familial relationships as there

were significant differences between the answers (Figure 6). A possible explanation for this may

be that the trauma endured by the students was coming out of the home, and/or from their

families.

Implications, Limitations, and Further Research

Within the Brainerd High School, this study could be very informative to teachers, school

counselors, parents, and others who work with high school students in the district. It could help

inform these people of the statistics on what the students in the school have been through. It can

also help by showing that those who are struggling the most with mental health issues, and

learned helplessness, may not have an outlet at home. This study can help the community

understand more about why students behave the way they do in social situations, and also the

extent to which trauma affects the people around them.

This study was limited by a small sample size of people with the majority female

respondents, and those in the 9th grade. There was non-response bias from males as well as

students in sophomore or junior year. The sample was also not diverse. Accurate distribution of

races/ethnicities was collected to represent the Brainerd High School, but not to represent the

state or the nation. A larger and more diverse sample would help to possibly gain different

results. The differences between the two groups that were created may be significant with a
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 19

diverse population. This may be because of different traumatic experiences endured by

minorities that were not represented in this sample. For the purpose of achieving the ideal

representation of the population as a whole, incentives could be included in taking the survey, or

it could be simply sent to multiple schools. Respondents could also be hand-picked based on

demographics to represent the diversity.

Further research in and around the topic of trauma-based learned helplessness could go in

many different directions. One area that could be looked at would be the correlation between

specific traumas and specific behaviors that come out of those traumas. Another issue that could

be studied is the relationship between trauma and introverts/extroverts. In the behavioral

checklist, there was an “other”/free response answer included where some respondents wrote that

they were naturally introverted. After this checklist of negative coping behaviors, in the question

that asked if the students believed the behaviors to be a result of trauma, many respondents

answered “unsure.” This uncertainty could be studied through tests of students' knowledge on the

effects that trauma can have. These effects of trauma could also be studied over time with

different generations answering the same questions about traumatic life experiences, and how

they have coped with them. Much more research can and should be done on this issue as mental

health is a growing concern in the community in the Brainerd High School, and communities and

schools around the nation.

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS AND CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS 20

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