By Erin Shigekawa, Jeremy Cantor, and Tea Slater, Jon Snow, Inc, September 2020
Introduction & Context
Exposure to adversity in childhood is tied to a range of negative health and social outcomes across the life course. This issue touches individuals, families, and communities.
Additionally, it reaches across sectors and fields, including public health, education, health care, the legal system, and child welfare. In recent years, there has been tremendous growth in interest and funding to address childhood adversity. However, the rapid spike in interest and funding and the crosscutting nature of the issue have contributed to inconsistent and ambiguous use of terminology.
Based on conversations with stakeholders in the field, it is clear that the lack of consistency is contributing to a fragmentation of efforts. Beyond influencing how an issue is received and understood, the language and framing used also influence the clinical, policy, and community solutions crafted in response. For example, an issue portrayed as primarily occurring to individual people or families will bring about a different response than one primarily understood to affect populations or communities.
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