my $0.02......

Van der Kolk: "normal" adults who undergo a trauma (say, involvememnt in 9/11) may be able to say to themselves, as horrible as that was, it was an incident in a lifetime, and perhaps they will not develop PTSD. Whereas a child, on the other hand, has few or no other life experiences to use as a self assurance that the whole world is not dangerous and threatening, and they are more likely to develop PTSD. It doesn't have to be "complex PTSD"; it can be a one incident thing; the vulnerability may have come from trauma(s) in preverbal years and the PTSD setting in later on from some other incident (or series of incidents) entirely.

The second blurb, I wish I could remember where I found it: children who undergo very early trauma(s) are more likely to develop PTSD (whether complex or no), but also may never integrate their personalities correctly, may never come to be "normal" adults at all, but will not understand why.

In my own case, which may be this last one, I find myself wondering whether therapy can help me complete the formative-brain templates; if not, I've only gone from
a) being incomplete without knowing why, to
b) being incomplete, and knowing why, and being unable to do anything about it.

Which is preferable, do you suppose....