Multiple Maltreatment and Adverse Childhood Experiences: Exploring Cumulative Threats to Attachment Quality

2020 ◽  
pp. VV-D-19-00158
Author(s):  
James E. Barnett ◽  
Tasha R. Howe
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Attachment Styles ◽  
Cumulative Risk ◽  
Screening Tools ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Attachment Quality ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Poor Outcomes ◽  
Socioemotional Outcomes

Child maltreatment and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) often cooccur and are related to negative socioemotional outcomes; however, limited research differentiates how maltreatment versus other ACEs predict such outcomes. These efforts are necessary to determine whether cumulative ACE screening efforts best predict those at risk for poor outcomes. We examined cumulative childhood ACEs, cumulative maltreatment subtypes, and adult attachment quality in 379 young and middle-aged adults. This sample enabled comparison between emerging adults and older adults who have navigated additional developmental tasks that may counteract the effects of early ACEs. More ACEs and maltreatment experiences predicted insecure anxious, avoidant, and fearful attachment styles; however, maltreatment failed to predict unique variance in attachment quality beyond other ACEs. Results suggest that maltreatment may be best categorized as part of a general cumulative risk profile predicting poor socioemotional outcomes. Findings support burgeoning trends in medical and social service settings assessing ACEs using simple dichotomous screening tools to identify those requiring intervention and support services.

Adverse Childhood Experiences: Developments in Trauma and Resilience Aware Services

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Spratt ◽  
Mary Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Poor Outcomes ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Research And Policy

Abstract Research has demonstrated conclusively that the experience of adversities in childhood increases the risks for poor outcomes in the domains of physical and mental health and economic and social circumstances across the life course. This has produced a wave of interest in the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences internationally, with developments in policy across the UK nations reflective of this. The translation of such research and policy development has witnessed the growing dominance of the ‘toxic stress model’ as underpinning the early signalling of troubles in children. Such signals are further conceptualised as the presence of ‘trauma’. It is upon these conceptual pillars that therapeutically orientated services are being built. In this article, we describe these developments, offering as they do, challenges to short-term interventions as well as providing opportunities for social workers to appropriate the developing knowledge base so as to inform more effective ways of working.

Adverse Childhood Experiences 101: A Primer for Clinicians

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Canan Karatekin ◽  
Brandon Almy
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Protective Factors ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Cumulative Risk ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

We provide an overview of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including a brief history and critique of ACEs as a cumulative risk factor, how ACEs are measured, prevalence of ACEs in epidemiological studies, and associations between ACEs and negative outcomes. Next, we list current hypotheses about potential mechanisms of risk between ACEs and negative outcomes and highlight the importance of examining the social determinants of ACEs. We point out the paucity of research on protective factors in studies on ACEs. Finally, we briefly review potential interventions (broadly defined) to prevent and address the consequences of ACEs. We end with several suggestions on what clinicians can do to help patients with a history of ACEs.

scholarly journals Adverse childhood experiences and substance use among Hispanic emerging adults in Southern California

2015 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
pp. 199-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon-Patrick Allem ◽  
Daniel W. Soto ◽  
Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati ◽  
Jennifer B. Unger
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood

Maternal adverse childhood experiences, current cumulative risk, and behavioral dysregulation among child welfare involved children

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-343
Author(s):  
Brett Greenfield ◽  
Abigail Williams-Butler ◽  
Kathleen Pirozzolo Fay ◽  
Jacquelynn F. Duron ◽  
Emily Adlin Bosk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Welfare ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Externalizing Behaviors ◽  
Cumulative Risk ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing Behaviors ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Cumulative Risks ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Internalizing And Externalizing

The intergenerational influence of adverse childhood experiences on individual outcomes demonstrates a need for research that considers both personal and environmental contributors to risk. As such, the current study explored how maternal cumulative risks influence the relationship between maternal Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their children’s behavioral dysregulation among families involved with the child welfare system ( N = 314). The importance of child age is also considered. The sample was stratified by age groups of children (1.5–5 years and 6–18 years), and the relationship between maternal ACEs, cumulative risk, and child behavior was assessed using OLS regressions. For younger children, maternal ACEs were only associated with externalizing behaviors when not controlling for cumulative risk, but cumulative risks were independently and significantly associated with both internalizing and externalizing behaviors. For older children, ACEs were independently associated with both types of behavior, but controlling for cumulative risk attenuated the strength of this relationship. Cumulative risks were also independently associated with older children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Findings suggest the need to consider both individual and environmental risks for parents and children involved in the child welfare system, and the developmental timing and stability of that risk, in order to adequately support parent-child relationships as well as caregiving environments.

scholarly journals GRANDPARENTS’ ROLES IN THE CONTEXT OF ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES: THE VOICES OF EMERGING ADULTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S628-S628
Author(s):  
Athena Chung Yin Chan ◽  
Doris Leung ◽  
Bessie Chan ◽  
Grace Wing Ka Ho
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Cultural Patterns ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Childhood Adversities ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Living Together ◽  
Witnessing Domestic Violence

Abstract The influence of grandparents, in the context of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), is largely understudied. With strong kinship in Asian families, grandparents may provide a crucial resource to their grandchildren; not limited to those living together, but having close emotional proximity. This qualitative study used secondary analysis to explore the roles of grandparents, upon reflection of participants’ childhood adversities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 emerging adults, between 18 and 24 years old in Hong Kong, China. Participants were eligible if they: (1) reported at least one ACE, namely, abuse (physical, emotional, sexual), neglect (physical, emotional), witnessing domestic violence, or a dysfunctional household (due to parental divorce/death, household member substance use, incarceration, mental illness); and (2) described their interactions with grandparents during the interviews. Participants were asked to think of a challenging time during their childhood, and strategies they used to overcome them. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data regarding the interactions with grandparents were coded and analyzed by four researchers following interpretive description. Preliminary findings described four primary roles grandparents played in the context of ACEs, which were sometimes positive and/or negative. Grandparents were portrayed as being unique persons in participants’ lives that influenced how they faced their childhood adversities. We will discuss how grandparents’ stewardship may significantly shape cultural patterns of how families cope with ACEs. In particular, our findings, examined against literature, will discuss how grandparents may enhance resilience of young people with ACEs.

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