Assessing the Foundational Studies on Adverse Childhood Experiences

Abstract

This article critically reviews the foundational studies carried out by Felitti in the US and Bellis in the UK and their colleagues examining the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and adult health and morbidity. These studies have paved the way for much research on childhood adversity and its impact on child development and brain functioning at a family level. ACEs have gained traction in the UK in terms of policy targeting dysfunctional families through early intervention to stop the intergenerational effects of adverse childhood experiences. This article questions the foundational research that argues for family-level, parent-based intervention, especially in light of substantial evidence about the biological embedding of poverty and the direct links between disadvantage and child development. It also hopes to raise awareness about the contested nature of ACEs and their growing influence on family policy.

Practitioner Review: Twenty years of research with adverse childhood experience scores – Advantages, disadvantages and applications to practice

“…Childhood adversity is ‘a construct in search of a definition’ (McLaughlin, : p. 363) and a fundamental consideration in ACEs research and translation is what constitutes an ‘adversity’? There has been much recent debate on this issue, beyond the scope of this review: we refer the reader to other authors for considerations about whether wider societal risks, such as community dysfunction and ethnic minority status, should be considered as adversities (Cronholm et al, ; Edwards et al, ; Hartas, ; McEwen & Gregerson, ). We consider adversities to be those experiences which require significant adaptation by the developing child in terms of psychological, social and neurodevelopmental systems, and which are outside of the normal expected environment, adapted from (McLaughlin, ).…”

A Critique of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Framework in Epidemiology and Public Health: Uses and Misuses

“…Methodological issues arise with ACE studies, many of which have been discussed in the literature (for example, see Hartas, 2019). Across studies a heterogeneity exists in how ACEs were defined, for example, in some cases poverty and deprivation is included (Appleton et al, 2017).…”

Association of Parental and Contextual Stressors With Child Screen Exposure and Child Screen Exposure Combined With Feeding

“…Previous research has demonstrated that television viewing in the context of lower available parental investment can have positive associations with adolescent test scores. 49 Given the associations of individual and contextual stressors with adverse child outcomes, 50 the associations of individual and contextual stressors with CSE and CSE+F, and the contingent associations between CSE and adverse child outcomes, 49 we believe a contextualized approach is the most appropriate to understand family dynamics clinically and to develop productive research questions. Downloaded From: https://jamanetwork.com/ on 09/25/2020…”