A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Introduction to the Special Issue

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including child maltreatment and other adversities in the home context and beyond (e.g., witnessing domestic violence; parental mental illness; parental separation; living in a disadvantaged neighborhood) are prevalent in the population and often covary together. Research based on the construct of ACEs has transformed the field of adult mental health, yet child and adolescent mental health has often been overlooked in this work. This special issue of Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology focuses on the developmental science of ACEs and child psychopathology. The research presented here draws on the extensive evidence base that now exists regarding the co-occurrence of common childhood adversities, while informing the integration of theory and research on ACEs with that of developmental psychopathology at large. This Introduction provides an overview of ACEs and child mental health from a developmental psychopathology perspective, with an emphasis on key concepts and recent progress spanning the prenatal period through to adolescence and intergenerational pathways. Models of ACEs that emphasize the multi-dimensional nature of adversity and the importance of developmental timing to risk and protective pathways, have played a driving role in this progress. Methodological innovations in this work are highlighted, along with implications for prevention and intervention.

Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces) and Subsequent Adult Psychopathologies Through the Lens of Attachment Theory: A Position Paper

“…Recent studies also take different dimensions and features of ACEs into account and suggest that the impact of ACEs may differ based on their unpredictability and harshness (Ellis, Sheridan, Belsky, & McLaughlin, 2022). The unpredictability of the adversity can be in both caregiving practices, such as unstable responses to the child's needs, or in a broader context such as instability in housing and parental employment (Hawes and Allen, 2023), which forms the child's expectations from their environment. The unpredictive environment, therefore, not only disrupts the development of secure attachment with the caregiver but also affects the child's cognitive, social, and emotional development.…”