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Please note that this insight was first published in June 2022, and therefore whilst the subject matter is still relevant, it may not represent the most up to date information in this area.
What are Adverse Childhood Experiences?
Adverse Childhood Experiences, known as ACEs, relate to a list of ten experiences including abuse, neglect, parental mental health, domestic abuse, substance/alcohol abuse and parental incarceration, as defined by the CDC-Kaiser Pemanente Study 1998 carried out by Vincent J Felitti, MD, and Robert Anda, MD. The ground-breaking study showed that as the number of ACEs increased in the population, so did the risk of experiencing a range of mental and physical health issues as well as lower life expectancy. This research has been replicated in countries across the world with similar findings.
It is thought that the impact of the toxic levels of stress experienced by children encountering ACEs can cause changes to the way the body grows and develops and impacts on the body’s immune response. What is important to note is that although the original study outlined ten ACEs, it was recognised by Felitti and Anda at the time that these were only the most commonly identified experiences and other experiences e.g. experiencing community violence, bullying and experiencing racism as well as others, could all constitute an ACE.
Nearly half of the population of England have experienced at least one ACE by the time they reach adulthood based on the BMC Medicine Journal article published in 2014.
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