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Our journal and others have published a myriad of studies on the deleterious effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on the developmental and physical well-being of infants and children. But what about the generational effect on offspring of parents who experienced ACEs growing up? Two studies we are early releasing this week shed some light on answering this question. First Racine et al. ( 10.1542/peds.2017-2495 ) present the results of their examination of maternal ACEs on the...

The 2018 Prevention Resource Guide: Keeping Children Safe and Families Strong in Supportive Communities was recently released by the Office of Child Abuse and Neglect in the Children's Bureau of the US Department of Health and Human Services. This guide is designed to support service providers as they work with families to promote child well-being and prevent child maltreatment. It focuses on protective factors that build on family strengths to foster healthy child and youth development. In...

photo by D. Sharon Pruitt, Creative Commons "OBJECTIVES: The study objective was to determine if maternal and paternal exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have a significant association with negative offspring development at 24 months of age in a suburban pediatric primary care population." Find out more about this study in the March 2018 issue of the journal PediatrIcs .

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, a newly-published study in the journal Mental Health and Physical Activity examines how long term exposure to stress correlates with the level of exercise in adulthood. The study also examines the association of higher self esteem and physical activity, and the role that stress and self esteem play in adult obesity. Read more here

Photo courtesy of Brazelton Touchpoints Center As our nation mourns the passing of renowned pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton, hearing his voice through the outpouring of articles, video clips, and conversations on social media feels like a balm for the soul. In these trying times, his simple shift from learning "what's wrong" to listening for "what's right" in a child and family seems very much needed. In his 50 years practicing pediatrics, he saw up close the ways parents can struggle. With...

News headlines and clinical studies alike show the wide reach of the nation's opioid epidemic. In this article in the journal Pediatrics , it shows how the opioid epidemic is striking children. Please read it and also comment in the comment section below about any of the following: As health care providers in pediatric practices, how is the opioid epidemic impacting your patients? How can ACEs screening and referral to resources make a difference? Many thanks, Laurie Udesky Community site...

I was first inspired to create a fact sheet summarizing the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) after reading a comment in “Got Your ACE score?” A reader wished she had a form to give her doctor that documented the vast body of evidence explaining how early trauma increases risk for chronic physical and mental health conditions and much more. I could relate.

Parenting can be stressful - and this stress may be influencing the DNA methylation of African American mothers, finds a new study led by NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing published in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. Stress can contribute to a range of health problems, including high blood pressure and heart disease - health issues that are particularly pervasive among African American women. The stress that parents feel in their roles adds to overall maternal stress...

"While often a silent and invisible issue, childhood trauma is pervasive, and has profound individual, societal and economic impacts. Many forms of childhood trauma exist, including child physical and sexual abuse. Given the prevalence, impact and availability of prevention and intervention approaches, child abuse deserves the same level of awareness, policy priority and investment as is directed to other issues of significant public health importance. The complex issue of child abuse...

Here is a powerpoint presentation by Dr. R.J. Gillespie of The Children's Clinic. Read here how The Children's Clinic is using ACEs science.

Only about 50 percent of adolescents with depression get diagnosed before reaching adulthood. And as many as 2 in 3 depressed teens don't get the care that could help them. "It's a huge problem," says Dr. Rachel Zuckerbrot , a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist and associate professor at Columbia University. To address this divide, the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued updated guidelines this week that call for universal screening for depression. [For more of this...

Infographic courtesy of the RYSE Center, Richmond, California Using data from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health , this report analyzed the prevalence of 8 specific adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) nationally and across states. The researchers also looked at ACE prevalence differences by race/ ethnicity and geographical regions. The most common ACEs were those associated with economic hardship and divorce or separation of a parent or guardian. Researchers found that black and...