Adverse childhood experiences are important but not the only risk to child development: Revisiting a full risk/resilience matrix

Abstract

Some childhood attributes and experiences are associated with adolescent and/or adult health disorders and/or behavioural difficulties, whilst others optimise development and may even protect children against the impact of the adverse. How can such complexity be understood? Has newer evidence changed understanding of such interactions over time? Has growing emphasis on 'adverse childhood experiences' (ACEs), referring to events or social environmental problems in childhood, begun to over-dominate the picture?The Isle of Wight studies, started in the 1960s (Rutter et al., 1975), were among the earliest to establish risk factors among young children for subsequent difficulties. Growing into a series of prospective, longitudinal, epidemiological studies they found that specific 'indicators of adversity' (low social class, severe marital discord, large family size, paternal criminality, maternal mental disorder and placement in out-of-home care) served as early predictors of later difficulties. Since then there have been repeated investigations of the risk factors for poor health (e.g., Asmundson & Afifi, 2019) and offending (e.g., Farrington, 2014) and also on protective factors (see Rennie & Dolan, 2010).