14 Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse Childhood Experiences
In the late 1990s, a large research study evaluated the impact of adverse childhood experiences on adult health and health behaviors in over 17,000 participants. This research is referred to as the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) include neglect, abuse, witnessing violence, or experiencing substance abuse, mental illness, divorce, or imprisonment of a family member. The findings showed that the more negative events a child experienced, the higher the likelihood they had behavior problems and participated in adolescent risky behaviors, including substance abuse and unprotected sexual activity resulting in pregnancy. In addition, the findings showed that adults also struggled with substance abuse and had a higher likelihood of suffering with chronic illness, including alcoholism, chronic pulmonary disease, depression, liver disease, and many more.1 Additionally, adults with the highest level of ACEs had a 20-year lower life expectancy than those without high levels of ACEs.2 See Figure 15.13 for an infographic of ACEs.
Figure 15.1 Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs)
View the following YouTube video4 on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), resilience, and trauma-informed care: How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime |
Although many people who experience individual trauma continue to live their lives without lasting negative effects, others experience traumatic stress reactions causing lasting difficulties. Various biopsychosocial and cultural factors influence an individual’s immediate response and long-term reactions to trauma. For most individuals, regardless of the severity of the trauma, the effects of trauma are met with resilience, defined as the ability to rise above circumstances or meet challenges with fortitude. Resilience includes the process of using available resources to negotiate hardship and/or the consequences of adverse events.5
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created a resource titled Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Leveraging the Best Available Evidence. This resource contains these six strategies:
• Strengthen economic supports to families
• Promote social norms that protect against violence and adversity
• Ensure a strong start for children
• Teach skills
• Connect youth to caring adults and activities
• Intervene to lessen immediate and long-term harms
Read additional information about the CDC’s prevention strategies in Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Leveraging the Best Available Evidence PDF.
View the following CDC YouTube video on adverse childhood experiences and protective factors6 : We Can
Risk Factors, Protective Factors, and Prevention Strategies
By bringing attention to the powerful impact that negative childhood experiences have on future health and functioning, the ACE study demonstrates the importance of designing early intervention programs that t