Adverse Childhood Experiences By Kaiser Permanente

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

America has a staggering problem among its youths and is in desperate need of help. Every day, young, innocent children are being abused. Unfortunately, this rate only seems to be growing as the foster care system is becoming flooded with children who need help. According to the website, Foster Club, a child is entered into the foster care system every two minutes. The reasoning for a child being placed in foster care can range, but mostly it is because of abuse. These traumatizing experiences and memories can hinder a person for the rest of their life. These kids find themselves in a terrible situation and learn ways to cope with the pain. It can be easy to judge their behaviors but for somebody with a normal life we can never understand the trials that they have had to live through. Fortunately, the psychological damage that is done can be reversed but in order to understand this fully we first need to know the negative psychological affects abuse can have on a person.

There has been an enormous amount of research, going back almost thirty years, about the relationship between childhood trauma, and juvenile delinquency. Many researches cannot say that there is a direct link between the two, but after much research, researches have found that childhood trauma can perhaps be a predictor for juveniles who later in life commit crimes. Trauma is defined as, “a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury,” because the definition is broad and can range from a variety of different events, for the purpose of this paper, the focus will be on neglect trauma in juveniles (Trauma, 2016). Neglect according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is, “the failure of a parent or other person with the responsibility for the child to provide needed food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision such that the child’s health, safety and well-being are threatened with harm” (Kazemian, 2011).

It impacts the maturation of specific brain areas at particular ages, the physiological and neuro-endocrinological responses as well as impacting the ability to coordinate cognitions, behaviours and emotional regulation. Therefore, the effect of trauma is different in different developmental stages. Ornitz (1996) has listed critical periods of major structural changes in brain development in accordance with Piaget’s stages of cognitive development. This includes the periods between early childhood (1.5-4 years), late childhood (6-10 years), puberty and mid-adolescence. This ensures that there are widespread implications of trauma in childhood especially in terms of the age at which exposure to trauma occurs as well as the areas of the brain affected. For example, the volume of the brain shows a rapid increase in first two years (Matsuzawa et al., 2001), a time when the development of attachment also takes place. Moreover, this growth is more experience- dependent (Schore, 2001). Children below the age of two also show a greater right brain than left brain

Childhood trauma affects many brain systems. The stress response system and its cosystems pay the greatest toll when a child experiences chronic threat. Taking a closer look at the

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,

It is estimated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human services that one million children are victims of child abuse and neglect in the U.S every year. This number may be an underrepresentation however, as many cases are unreported. Children who experience trauma in early childhood years or adolescence have impacts that follow them throughout adulthood. The common effects include relationship attachment issues, mental disorders, substance abuse, increased

From an outside perspective, one could witness the behaviors but at the scientific level, one sees the biological cause for this behavior. Lisa J. Cohen states the scientific overview of how child abuse affects the brain (Cohen 413). Psychological trauma can affect the very structure of the brain cells. Trauma can cause the growth of myelination (growth of a fatty

Research shows that many brain and hormonal changes may occur as a result of early, prolonged trauma, and contribute to troubles with learning, memory, and regulating emotions. Combined with a disruptive, abusive home environment, these brain and hormonal changes may contribute to severe behavioral difficulties (“Post-Traumatic” 1).

According to Naviaux’s, during early brain development it triggers the chronic danger response when an individual is experiencing stress. He proposes that a stress can came from an environmental influence, genetic problem, or both. “When the brain cells stop talking, so do children,” he

Every year, child abuse and neglect affect more than one million children nation-wide (Currie and Tekin 1). Along with this, child abuse is the source of severe injury to more than 500,000 children and the death of over 1,500 children (Currie and Tekin 1). These outrageously large numbers reveal the extent to which child abuse and neglect impact society; however, they do not acknowledge the effect abuse can have on a child’s life and the repercussions that may occur in both the individual’s childhood and adulthood. While the effects most certainly include physical pain and possibly future disabilities, child abuse and neglect can also affects the child’s psychological welfare. Psychological effects are often more difficult to recognize,

Child abuse and neglect have immediate and long-term consequences. In addition to negatively impacting the child, child abuse and neglect impacts the family, the school community, and even future generations. The ability to survive and be successful in the face of child abuse and neglect depends on a variety of factors, including the extent and type of abuse or neglect, whether it was continual or infrequent, the age of the child when abuse was initiated, the child’s relationship to the abuser, and how the abuse or neglect was responded to. Outcomes are also dependent on the child’s personality traits, inner strength, and the support the child receives from those around them. It is important to acknowledge that some children will not develop behavioral problems, so it cannot be assumed that a

Child abuse and neglect are considered a social phenomenon that plays a crucial role in American society as well as in the American criminal justice system. All types of ages, genders, ethnicities at some point or another are represented as victims or perpetrators of child abuse or neglect. Child abuse includes physical, psychological and sometimes sexual abuse to a person who is below the age of 18. Child abuse or neglect victims tend to grow up with long terms consequences such as low self-esteem, depression, and other major consequences such as engaging in criminal behavior as adults, teen pregnancy and not to mention the severity of physical child abuse consequences can end up in a death of an innocent victim. This literature

Think about your childhood, coming home from school, going to practice, and then eating dinner with your family, and your parents coming tucking you into bed and kissing you to bed. The sad truth is that not everyone gets to have that ideal childhood according to the American Society for Positive Care for Children there were 7.2 million reported child abuse cases last year. Tiffany Sharples wrote in Time Magazine last year 9 out of 10 child abuse cases go unreported.  Abuse does not only affect children physically but it's also detrimental impact on the child's mental health causing long lasting mental health problems.