Adverse Childhood Experiences Prevention Strategy

Adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, are preventable, potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-1 7 years) such as neglect, experiencing or witnessing violence, and having a family member attempt or die by suicide. Also included are aspects of a child’s environment that can undermine their sense of safety, stability, and bonding, such as growing up in a household with substance use; mental health problems; or instability due to parental separation or incarceration of a parent, sibling or other member of the household (Figure 1) (CDC, 2019; Felitti et al., 1998). Importantly, these examples do not comprise an exhaustive list of all childhood adversities, as there are other potentially traumatic experiences, such as bullying, experiencing racism, and the death of a parent, that can also impact health and wellbeing.

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