By PR Newswire, Yahoo Finance, July 30, 2019
NEWARK, N.J., July 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --A new report released today details the challenges New Jersey faces in addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and sets forth opportunities and actions for a coordinated statewide response to mitigate their lasting effects on children's health and well-being.
ACEs are stressful or traumatic events, including abuse, neglect, domestic violence, household mental illness, household substance misuse, and parental separation or divorce. More than 4 out of 10 children in New Jersey have experienced at least one ACE, according to the report's analysis of the 2016-2017 National Survey of Children's Health, with nearly half of those children experiencing multiple ACEs. Research has found that children of color, those from low-income backgrounds, LGBTQ youth, and foster children, are at a higher risk of exposure to multiple ACEs.
Without the presence of a positive buffer, such as a nurturing parent or caregiver, ACEs can lead to a toxic stress response in children over time. Toxic stress can affect brain architecture and chemistry and have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being in childhood and later in life. Children who experience toxic stress are at an increased risk of developing depression, obesity, substance use problems, and chronic illnesses like heart and lung disease and cancer. Furthermore, there is a clear intergenerational effect of trauma, because parents who experience toxic stress are more likely to have children who experience toxic stress.
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