Researchers at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Kaiser Permanente in California (United States) first developed and initiated the Adverse Childhood Experiences study. The initial focus of the study was understanding obesity. Through a nine-part questionnaire, researchers discovered that obesity is a common response to trauma. It became the most extensive study ever done to understand the health and social effects of childhood experiences over their lifespan. Since then, researchers have replicated and expanded the study toward understanding trauma's impact on the individual, social systems, education, healthcare, poverty, violence, and homelessness. There is a push for trauma-informed practices in schools, healthcare facilities, and social services, impacting the provision of related services.
The expanded questionnaire (now ten questions) asks to identify experiences related to abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction before age 18. The questionnaire is on many internet sites, including the CDC and WHO (World Health Organization), for anyone to take. Generally, a higher ACE score predicts a variety of physical, learning, and mental health concerns, such as maladaptive coping mechanisms (such as smoking, alcohol and drug use, promiscuity, etc.). These concerns have broader impacts on families, communities, homelessness, and poverty.
Research has identified that the age at which the child experiences a type of trauma affects whatever part of the brain is developing at that age. Because of the natural release of cortisol (a hormone) during high-stress situations, parts of the brain can become damaged by this inundation of stress hormones, impacting the brain's development. For example, a child experiencing a particular type of abuse at age six may have language development difficulties. Trauma experienced at age nine might impact a specific type of learning or even spatial skills. Conclusive evidence from this research shows that boys' brains are more susceptible to neglect. At the same time, girls are more impaired by sexual abuse.
In my own life, I now understand that the emotional neglect I received during my childhood led to over-activity in the amygdala. The amygdala is the part of the brain that regulates behavioral and physiological responses. That over-activity led to debilitating social anxiety and difficulty connecting with others, which persisted throughout my life.
Behaviorally, in my early teens, I began to engage in unhealthy coping mechanisms, including smoking, drinking, and drug use. These behaviors gave me the illusion of social connection and calmed my anxiety. These maladaptive coping mechanisms are a prevalent response to childhood trauma and one that often leads to dire consequences in adulthood.
If a child is constantly fearful and stressed, their brain may adapt to survive in this environment. Fear and stress may lead to impaired development of areas of the brain involved in logical thinking (such as the prefrontal cortex) and memory (such as the hippocampus).
Moreover, releasing cortisol in high-stress environments can interfere with myelination and the healthy development of nerve cells in the brain, but it also changes our DNA. These changes to our DNA, an evolutionarily adaptive process, are then passed onto the next generation as evolutionary insurance toward survival in a hostile world.
My work in the schools was to educate students, provide interventions, and train staff, parents, and community members in the value of understanding ACEs. An award-winning documentary filmed at an alternative school in Walla Walla, Washington (USA), called "Paper Tigers" (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4076258/), demonstrates the power of this understanding. The movie shows us the capability to build resilience to overcome our past.
Awareness of this field of study has provided me with the tools to be able to come to understand myself, my mother, my grandmother, and my entire family and community. It has provided me with a deeper understanding of what makes me who I am, the choices I unconsciously make, and how my family history influences my development.
My mother's childhood experiences of abuse, extreme poverty, and the inheritance of the "Irish Curse" molded the woman who raised me. I adopted her worldview in my youth that there was a tragedy around every corner and her oft-repeated phrase, "Something else to worry about." But my grandmother Myrt showed me that there was a different way to live and that we all have the capacity for change, hope, and resilience.
Resource information:
US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website regarding Adult Childhood Experiences (ACEs): https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/about.html
For more information on ACEs and fostering resilience, visit:
Jeff is a retired counselor living his best life as a Midwestern child of the corn.
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Next week - Part 4 in this monthlong series, Making Sense.
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