Summary: The Adverse Childhood Experience

Childhood maltreatment is a prevalent problem through out the world. As a child grows and matures the brain continues to develop according its experiences. During this time sensitive periods of development for different areas of the brain. A few areas that are of interest are the stress-influenced areas, which are at an increased risk for developmental problems when exposed to maltreatment. The extra stress from such exposures can influence abnormalities throughout the brain, which have been linked to structure changes with in the corpus callosum, anterior cingulate, dorsolateral prefrontal, orbitofrontal cortex, and hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum, as well as changes to stress related hormone systems. These structural changes are associated with an increased risk of psychopathology and other life long educational and physiological risk.

After reading, it is logical and makes sense that higher the amount of exposure to childhood trauma would affect someone later in life. These experiences have the ability to cause greater health issues because of it (Stevens, 2014). This aligns with my working knowledge of Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) research which I have learned from my mentor. This topic is big for her as she works with children and families in our communities for a living. She is aware of my past of being in foster care and has educated me how ACE research pertains to me. A while back she started naming off experiences, asking if I had them in my life, with the goal of educating me about how high my ACE score is and that it makes sense that I got cancer three years

Negative, traumatic events during childhood, otherwise known as Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), have been shown to increase the risk of early death and disability of children throughout the course of their lifespan in the United States. (CDC, 2014) Increased exposures to major risk factors, such as the neglect, abuse, and the adoption of risky behaviors, account for the majority of ACEs. This project applies geographic information science (GIS) to explain the spatial relationship between ACE populations and proximity to high-risk neighborhoods in the Bronx, New York. It was also serve as a guide to determine if ACE resources are reaching areas with the highest need by studying the relationship between areas with high ACEs and

The exposure of children to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and other forms of maltreatment is

A report by Jack Shonkoff found that toxic stress can hinder the social and economic prospects of a child. The report examines the evidence of the disruptive impacts of toxic stress, offering insights into the mechanisms that link early childhood adversity to later impairments in learning, behavior, and both physical and emotional well-being. The implications suggest that many adult diseases should be views as developmental disorders that began in early childhood and that persistent health disparities associated with poverty, discrimination, or maltreatment could be reduced by the alleviation of toxic stress in childhood

Childhood trauma is not just widely prevalent but also has pervasive implications for diverse areas of functioning (van der Kolk, 2005). However, research indicates that childhood trauma assessment is often prevented by the social taboos associated with such events as neglect, abuse and exposure to violence yet it is important to acknowledge this. The Adverse Childhood Experiences Studies indicate that there is a very strong relationship between early adverse childhood experiences and other long-term effects such as depression, attempts of suicide, abusing substances like alcohol, cigarette or drugs, domestic violence, reduced physical activity, obesity, sexual promiscuity and sexually transmitted diseases. They also predispose people to develop physical ailments such as heart disease, diabetes,

Font and Jack (2015) also discuss in their study that individuals who scored with four or more adverse childhood experiences were more likely to report poor health. These people report sexually transmitted infections, obesity, substance abuse and many more health issues (Font and Jack, 2015). Someone who has gone through multiple adverse childhood experiences and therefore reports a higher ACE score might see early mortality and increased comorbid conditions. prevalence of the leading cause of death in adulthood.

The likelihood of development of a mental illness and suicidal behavior increases with exposure to childhood trauma. One single childhood adverse

Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) such as neglect and abuse have the capacity to increase the likelihood of disease, social problems, sexual issues and mental health issues later in adulthood. A dysfunctional home life experience as a child also is also implemented and impacts physical, mental, social and sexual health and wellbeing as an adult.

This is problematic because the levels of stress these children are under are very high. These high Ace scores are related to major chronic health, mental health, economic health, and social health issues. Finding the appropriate intervention for children with higher ACE scores or that could experience more trauma is key to helping children in the foster system over come adversities. Adverse childhood experiences are common, but that does not mean that we cannot be proactive. When creating a treatment plan it is important to recognize that some children have already experienced trauma, so that would be late stage intervention, but it is also important to plan early intervention.

However, to understand the impact of adversity on young children’s development and learning, our genes supply the basic blueprint for brain development. “Thus, toxic stress in early childhood not only is a risk factor for later risky behavior but also can be a direct source of biological injury or disruption that may have lifelong consequences independent of whatever circumstances might follow later in life (Shonoff and Garner, 2012, page 238). Poverty, neglect, or family stress can make it especially difficult for young children to develop the self-discipline and habits of mind they will need to succeed in the classroom and beyond. Researchers have found that chronic, sustained stress, such as that caused by neglect, abuse, or deprivation,

To obtain the measures of the study Hukkelberg used different trauma detections. One of the measures Hukkelberg used was” The Traumatic Events Screening Inventory for Children” (as cited in Ford et al., 2000). “The Traumatic Events Screening Inventory for Children was used to assess trauma experiences” (as cited in Ford et al., 2000). “The Traumatic Events Screening Inventory” (as cited in Ford et al.,2000) assed how serious the trauma experiences were that the child went through. The screening was a checklist that included these experiences “severe accident, natural disaster, sudden death or severe illness of a close person, extremely painful medical procedures, violence outside the family context, witnessing violence within the family physical abuse within the family, sexual abuse inside and outside the family, and other overwhelming experiences” (as cited in Ford et al., 2000). The study had the children rate how many times they were involved in from 0 to 3 (p. 263). “The 0= Not at all, 1 Once a week or less/once in a while, 2= 2 to 4 times a week/ half of the time, and 3= 5 or more times a week/ almost always” (Hukkelberg, 2013). If a child circled a three to all or almost all of the experiences they were involved in they were assessed for posttraumatic stress disorder systems (p. 263).

Poverty and how it can affect a child’s education and how attachment with a parental figure can affect a child’s education are two major claims made by Tough. Tough believes in general children who come from stressful environments and insecure attachments tend to do worse in school in comparison to others. Children who are surrounded by stressful situations in their home environment tend to be distracted emotionally, thus leading to their poor performance in school. In an attempt to explain this phenomenon, stress psychologists described how the part of the brain that is critical in self-regulatory, cognitive and emotional responses is the part that is mainly affected by early stress. Using this information, Burke Harris conducted a study where she assigned ACE scores to thousands of patients based on childhood trauma including growing up in an abusive home. Based upon these results, Burke Harris found a powerful correlation relating ACE scores and people’s performance in school (17). In order to make sense of this information, McEwen described

Childhood trauma is one of the most heartbreaking situations to ever fathom happening. Childhood trauma includes neglect, maltreatment, physical and emotional abuse, and many other forms of mistreatment amongst children. Childhood trauma occurs between the ages of 0 and 6 years of age. When referencing to childhood trauma, one must take thought into who commits the abuse, who is affected by the abuse, and what long term effects can the abuse have on the victims. One must also take into consideration the sex differences when referring to childhood trauma. Numerous of studies have been conducted and many findings have been made. Prior to conducting this research paper, I only considered childhood trauma to be what it was and never considered the long term effects. Because of my assumption, I never even considered the other categories of the trauma.

Emotional abuse can cause serious burdens on society. Emotional abuse has a significant cost in educational and societal failures, crime, and health care costs (Hibbard, Barlow, & MacMillan, 2012) Pediatricians need to be alert and trained in recognizing emotional maltreatment of children. This can be a very difficult task for pediatricians. Learning to interview children when they are developmentally ready is an important skill which can be critical in detecting emotional abuse. Children who have been emotionally abused have higher rates of psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and aggression. Providers need to be cognizant of risk factors that may indicate a greater risk for emotional abuse. Some of the risk factors were parental psychiatric illness, depression, and substance