“ACEs not destiny” means to me that just because you have experienced any of the events in the adverse childhood experiences does not mean you are going to fall in the statistical outcomes. This study does not mean that you are going to experience the long term health outcomes. There are people who do not experience the 10 types of childhood trauma who end up with the same long term health outcomes. Anyone can participate in the high – risk behaviors such as drug and alcohol abuse, smoking cigarettes just to name a few. Not only can behavior be affected by the childhood trauma but health issues can also occur. Health issues such as cancer, depression, and cardiac issues are all related to those who experience childhood trauma. However people …show more content…
Those who do not become a statistic may have a healthy support group outside the home that can help them meet their needs. Groups such as a friend’s family, another family member, a church group all can greatly improve a child’s life and decrease chances for high risk behavior. A child’s developmental niche takes the cultural aspect of a child and how it guides child’s developmental stages. The kind of life that the child has from birth, the parenting style, amount of attention etc all contribute to how a baby develops. In my personal case I received a score of zero, I have experienced zero of the 10 childhood traumas. I have however been experienced some of the possible “ high risk” behaviors, but they are not a part of my everyday life. I also have a genetic disposition for some of the health risks; cancer, heart issues, and alcoholism. My ACEs score and life story is an example of “ACEs not destiny”. I grew up in a nurturing environment; my mother and father were very active in my life. My parents invested time in helping me learn, they encouraged me to excel as a
The trauma-informed care lab was a very impactful experience for me as a student pharmacist and as a person. Prior to the lab, I have always believed that childhood experiences can influence a person’s outcome as an adult. While this belief humanizes those, who have made poor choices in life, it is difficult for me to vindicate every case I see. However, after seeing the statistical facts from the ACE study and especially the movie Healing Neen, I found it easier to show empathy and understanding to those who made those choices.
The Adverse Childhood Experiences study (ACE) conducted by Felitti et al. (1998) proposed that children who experienced maltreatment and neglect along with dysfunctional family systems were at higher risk for developing physiological and psychological problems later in life. The ACE studies demonstrated the collective effects of negative childhood experiences on physical and mental health issues. These disorders include; substance abuse, suicidal ideality, and depression, as well as a host of medical problems (Putnam, Harris & Putnam, 2013). In addition, the study indicated that exposure to two or more adverse childhood experiences is linked to higher rates of smoking, promiscuity, substance abuse, and eating disorders (Anda et al., 2006).
Childhood Trauma is defined as “The experience of an event by a child that is emotionally painful or distressful, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects.” (The National Institute of Mental Health). Childhood trauma is an epidemic that seems to be running its way throughout the world. Childhood trauma is a worldwide problem that can affect anyone and everyone. People tend to just try and help the problems that occur due to the childhood trauma, but not the problem itself. Many of these issues will also follow the child into their adult years and will cause negative effects. This paper will discuss the negative outcomes for a child who suffers from childhood trauma, and the negative outcomes that can follow them into adulthood.
This paper is but a brief overview of this topic and a great deal more research not included in this paper has been devoted to the biopsychosocial influences of genetic predisposition, parents, daycare providers, the daycare environment, and the many other factors that effect children that attend daycare. However, it’s encouraging to know that progress is being made in the development of a safe, healthy, and nurturing environment for our children at this most vulnerable age.
Adverse childhood experiences known as the ACE Study, was developed to determine whether childhood events had long-term health consequences, which has important implications for Healthy People 2020 Policy planning, as well as for key social work roles in disease prevention. (Larkin, Felitti, Anda, 2014). Based on the Michael’s case he has experienced six ACEs, child abuse that was both emotional and physical, alcohol abuse, single parent home, working class, and lack of support/closeness with family. Some studies suggest that the experience of four or more ACEs is a threshold above which there is a particular higher risk of negative physical and mental health outcomes. (Sacks, Murphey, Moore, 2014) Early life stress, including neglect and abuse,
ACEs are a social problem that interconnect and affect communities and families. The Social Ecological Model (SEM) considers the multifaceted interaction between various influences and has been used by the CDC to prevent child maltreatment. Child maltreatment includes several categories of ACEs and is an example of toxic stress. Therefore, the SEM prevention model would be appropriate for Washington County, as the prevention of ACEs requires understanding all the potential conditions and factors that cause them. The CDC uses a four level social ecological model to better understand potential strategies for prevention. The SEM studies the interchange between individual, relationship, community and societal elements (Middlebrooks & Audage, 2008).
Longitudinal studies have demonstrated that behavior patterns and personality are established during the early formative years. Research suggests that, when children come from unhealthy backgrounds, such as dysfunctional, abusive homes, they are much less likely to develop adequately physically, academically, and emotionally. There is usually an
In conclusion, the authors have come to the same assumptions that many other researchers have also come to. That assumption is that children who are raised in a perpetual household or parents who are just cohabiting are not as high danger statistics as those who were raised in an unstable environment. Do not be fooled, there are many other reasons to be apprehensive a child’s wellbeing in families that are not as stable as most homes. This is one reason why we have departments such as child protective agencies that are looking out for the best interest of the child. Just because someone has a child does not mean that they will automatically become great parents. We all see the tragic stories of abused children everyday where the system has failed that child and/ or family as a
Children experience decreased development in the left brain when traumatic events occur (Network, n.d.). Imagine being a child and growing up with these types of events occurring. A traumatic event in a child’s life can cause a child to experience a long lasting negative effect. Life events are happening everywhere and more often in the lives of children (Understanding Child Traumatic Stress, n.d.). Trauma can cause them to do three things. First, they try to see what the danger is and how serious it is. Secondly there are strong emotional and physical reactions. Thirdly they attempt to come up with what to do that can help them with the danger. Traumatic events can cause a child to develop differently, which effects the young child stage,
Children raised in poverty display behaviors that are sometimes mistaken for emotional and behavioral disorders. Chi...
The life course and systems perspective provides building blocks for understanding positive development during middle childhood. As parents and social workers, we must recognize that resilience is seldom an instinctive characteristic; rather, it is a process that is facilitated by influences within the child’s surrounding. Research suggest that high-risk behaviors among children increases when children perceives declining family involvement and community supports. Therefore, the primary goal of parents and professionals is to dedicate to the child’s well-being positive internal and external supports that promote maximal protective factors, while minimizing risk factors for optimal developmental transitions. Chapter 5 of Elizabeth D. Hutchinson, Dimensions of Human Behavior The Changing Life Course 3rd, 2008.
Early childhood adversity, such as maltreatment, exposure to domestic violence, or living with another person with serious mental illness, will also carry heavy consequences from generation to generation. One in seven people over the age of 12 have a substance addiction problem, many if not all of these people have a high toxic stress or childhood adversity scores. One in seven people over the age of 12 have a substance addiction problem, many if not all of these people have a high toxic stress or childhood adversity scores. One way to see if a person is dealing with childhood adversity and toxic stress is to take an ACE Test. A dysfunctional childhood is linked to several conditions associated with premature death, including smoking, substance abuse, obesity, cardiovascular disease, depression, and attempted suicide. Fortunately, brains and lives are somewhat plastic. The appropriate integration of resilience factors born out of ACE concepts, such as asking for help, developing trusting relationships, forming a positive attitude, listening to feelings can help people improve their
Child maltreatment can affect any child, usually aged 0-18, and it occurs across socioeconomic, religious, ethnic or even educational backgrounds. Arguably, child abuse and neglect is a violation of basic human rights of a child resulting from social, familial, psychological and economic factors (Kiran, 2011). Familial factors include lack of support, poverty, single parenthood, and domestic violence among others, (McCoy and Keen, 2009). The common types of child maltreatment include physical abuse, emotional maltreatment, neglect, and sexual abuse among others. Abuse and neglect can lead to a variety of impacts on children and young people such as physical, behavioral as well as psychological consequences which will affect the development and growth of the child either positively or negatively based on the environment and agency. More so, emotional, cognitive and physical developmental impacts from child neglect in the early stages of childhood can be carried on into adulthood. Research findings reveal that the experience of maltreatment can cause major long-term consequences on all aspects of a child’s health, growth as well as intellectual development and mental wellbeing, and these effects can impair their functioning as adults. Commonly, the act of abuse/ or neglect toward a child affects the child’s physical, behavioral development and growth, which can be positive or negative, depending on the child’s environment and agency. Another way to understand how the act has affected the child is to look at the child for who they are, and interviewing and observing their behaviors of their everyday life.
The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study was done by Dr. Vince Felitti and Dr. Bob Anda at the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) and together, they asked 17,500 adults about their exposure to what they called “adverse childhood experiences,”
Family factors include being exposed to violence, deplorable family functionality, diminutive emotional attachments to parents and poor monitoring of children.