The acceleration of the climate crisis. Systemic racism. Income inequality. Gun violence. Public health challenges of every stripe. You name it. At this very moment, children everywhere are suffering from unprecedented levels of toxic stress. We know that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have devastating effects on children’s development. But what many people still don’t know is that these experiences have negative effects on health and opportunities well into adulthood.
According to the CDC,
- 1 in 6 adults experienced four or more types of ACEs.
- At least 5 of the 10 leading causes of death are associated with ACEs.
- Preventing ACEs could reduce the number of adults with depression by as much as 44%.
One caring adult
What we also know is that the consistent presence of one caring adult can buffer a child against the harmful effects of toxic stress.
What if we had a scalable, cost-effective vaccine available to every caregiver, one that strengthens emotion regulation, builds resilience, and protects against violence and abuse? {hyperlink to next blog post}
There is a well-documented relationship between the resilience of parents/caregivers and children, via the mechanism of “co-regulation.” Therefore, building the emotion regulation skills of adults not only buffers the child against the effects of toxic stress, but bestows a kind of “passive immunity.”
By giving parents and caregivers skills to work with their difficult emotions and build emotional resilience, we can address one of the immediate causes of violence, abuse, neglect and other potentially traumatic events experienced by children.
A society that produces differential outcomes
One of the markers of racial inequity is systemic, differential outcomes based on race. Johns Hopkins University has documented that Black children are more likely to have higher ACE scores compared to White children, and are overrepresented among children with 2 or more ACEs. Black children experiencing individual discrimination have higher rates of other ACEs. Females and several other racial/ethnic minority groups are at greater risk for experiencing 4 or more ACEs. When racial equity has been achieved, we will have eliminated any differential ACE scores by race.
Moreover, the common measures of ACEs “completely ignore the adverse childhood experience of living within institutional and systemic racism in America.”
Recognizing the roots and addressing immediate causes
I agree with the CDC that a primary way to prevent ACEs is to strengthen economic supports and financial security of families. Experts are beginning to acknowledge systemic racism, pervasive societal violence, and income inequality as the public health issues they are.
These systems of structural injustice and oppression are the deeper roots of ACEs. Building emotional resilience is not a way to simply cope with living in these inequitable conditions, but is a tool for healing and thereby creating a more just and loving world in which systemic injustice can no longer thrive.
Research has repeatedly demonstrated that one of the most protective factors for children is the presence of one caring parent or caregiver. Providing these adults with effective tools to regulate their emotions and thus reclaim that energy for constructive, creative action in their lives, is a powerful form of protecting a child against the harmful effects of ACEs. By giving parents and caregivers skills to build emotional resilience, we can focus on one of the immediate causes of violence, abuse, and other potentially traumatic events experienced by children.
To read more about what we are doing to provide adults with tools for emotional resilience and regulation: ACEs High (part 2): Developing a Vaccine for Emotional Resilience.
Musical inspiration: Ani DiFranco, “Contagious”
{ https://youtu.be/jKpWlRDB7iY }