Adverse and Protective Childhood Experiences

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can negatively influence development. However, the lifelong effects of positive childhood experiences (PACEs) can mitigate the detrimental effects of  adverse ones. By integrating existing knowledge about (ACEs) with developmental research on preventing, buffering, and treating the effects of adversity, stress, and trauma on child development and subsequent health and functioning, this book identifies the most important of these (PACEs). It provides an interdisciplinary lens from which to view the multiple types of effects of enduring childhood experiences, and recommends evidence-based approaches for protecting children and repairing the enduring negative consequences of (ACEs) they face as adults. Students, researchers, clinicians, and health-care providers can use this research to understand the science of early life adversity, lifelong resilience, and related intervention and prevention programming to help those suffering from the lifelong effects of (ACEs). Chapters include many figures, graphs, diagrams, stories, and activities that aim to help readers apply the science to everyday life. 

Jennifer Hays-Grudo, Ph.D, is a Regents Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Oklahoma State University. Dr. Hays-Grudo received both her master's and doctorate in developmental psychology from the University of Houston and her bachelor's in psychology from Texas Tech University. She has participated as the principal investigator on a number of National Institutes of Health-funded research grants to develop and evaluate individual and community health-related behavior changes.

Amanda Sheffield Morris, PhD, is a Regents Professor of Human Development and Family Science, Oklahoma State University. She received her PhD from Temple University in Psychology, was a post-doctoral fellow at Arizona State University, and taught at the University of New Orleans for five years. Her research focuses on the role of emotion regulation in child and adolescent adjustment and the ways in which children learn successful regulation skills.

Preface: The Hole in the Bridge
Acknowledgements
I. The Effects of Adverse and Protective Childhood Experiences
1. Adverse Childhood Experiences
The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study
ACEs Studies in Other Populations
ACEs in Children and Adolescents
Defining ACEs
Knowing One’s ACE Score
2: Protective and Compensatory Experiences: The Antidote to ACEs
PACEs: Relationships and Resources
PACEs Foundational Theories and Research
Our Research on PACEs
Knowing One’s PACE Score
Part II. How Early Experience Influences the Body, Brain, and Behavior
3. Effects of Early Life Adversity on Neurobiological Development
Models of Biobehavioral Responses to Childhood Adversity
Epigenetics and Childhood Adversity
Effects of Childhood Adversity on Brain Structure and Function
Putting It All Together: The ICARE Model
4. The Intergenerational Transmission of ACEs and PACEs
Psychosocial Transmission of Adversity and Resilience
Neurobiological Transmission of Parenting
Neurobiological Transmission of Adversity and Resilience
Conclusions and Activity: ACEs and PACEs Genograms
III. Breaking the Cycle of ACEs and Increasing PACEs
5. Repairing the Effects of ACEs in Adulthood
ACE-Based Science as a Foundation for Interventions
PACEs for Adults
Conclusions and Activity: Creating an Adult PACEs Plan
6. Promoting Positive Development in Children with ACEs
PACEs for Children
PACEs for Adolescents
Enhancing Neurobiological Regulation
Fostering Positive Caregiver–Child Relationships
Systems-Level Programs
Conclusions and Activity: Creating a Child PACEs Plan
7. ACEs and PACEs and Communities
The Historical and Social Context of ACEs
Trauma-Informed Practices
Community Coalitions Focused on ACEs and Resilience
Policy Change and Legislation
Adverse Community Environments and Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Pair of ACEs
8: Putting It All Together: Summary and Solutions
What We Have Learned
Solutions—What to Do Next
Finding A Life Raft
Appendix: Questions for Reflection
Resources
References
Index
About the Authors