Safe Neighborhoods and Supportive Communities Protect Children from the Health Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

Protective factors such as safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments can prevent the long-term effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Recently, policymakers and practitioners have sought to better understand environmental level influences on exposure to ACEs, given the crucial role of social determinants of health in alleviating racial health inequities. Thus, this study seeks to understand how ACEs can be mitigated through neighborhood-level factors; it examines the relationships among ACEs, safe and supportive neighborhoods, and overall health status by race/ethnicity using a national data sample.

Examining Racial/Ethnic Differences in Positive Childhood Experiences Among Respondents in a Southern State.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and positive childhood experiences (PCEs) may impact brain development in children and adolescents into adulthood. While prior research demonstrated racial-ethnic disparities in ACEs, less is known about racial and ethnic differences in PCEs, particularly among adults. To better understand racial and ethnic differences in positive childhood experiences, this study (1) examined the prevalence of PCEs in an adult population in South Carolina (SC), a representative southern US state and (2) examined whether PCE exposure differed across racial and ethnic groups.

The Unintended Consequence of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic on Racial Inequities Associated With Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Findings From a Population-Based Study.

A rising concern is the COVID-19 pandemic effect on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) due to increased parental stress and social/physical isolation. These pandemic effects are likely to be higher in already marginalized communities. The objective of this ecological study was to examine the relationship between COVID-19 cases and deaths, race/ethnicity, and the estimated number of adults with ACEs using data from South Carolina (SC).

Who declines to respond to the reactions to race module?: findings from the South Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2016-2017.

Background: The inclusion of self-reported differential treatment by race/ethnicity in population-based public health surveillance and monitoring systems may provide an opportunity to address long-standing health inequalities. While there is a growing trend towards decreasing response rates and selective non-response in health surveys, research examining the magnitude of non-response related to self-reported discrimination warrants greater attention. This study examined the distribution of sociodemographic variables among respondents and non-respondents to the South Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (SC-BRFSS) Reactions to Race module (6-question optional module capturing reports of race-based treatment).

Who Is Talking About Adverse Childhood Experiences? Evidence From Twitter to Inform Health Promotion.

Background: Growing availability of research about addressing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) has recently been embraced by the mainstream media and public. Social media, especially Twitter, provides a unique forum and platform for the public to access and share information about this topic.

Objective: This study aims to better understand how the public is framing, sharing, and using research about ACEs on Twitter and to examine the information being commonly discussed about ACEs.

Perceived Persuasiveness of Evidence About Adverse Childhood Experiences: Results From a National Survey.

Objective: Advocates must make decisions about the types of evidence they emphasize when communicating to cultivate support for adverse childhood experience (ACE) prevention policies. This study sought to characterize public perceptions of the persuasiveness of 12 ACE evidence statements and assess differences by ideology in the strength of these evidence messages as rationales for ACE prevention policies.

Methods: A web-based survey of a nationally representative sample of US adults was conducted using the KnowledgePanel (N = 503, completion rate = 60.

Community capacity coach: Embedded support to implement evidenced-based prevention.

Given the pervasive nature of child abuse and neglect, multilevel public health approaches are necessary. Implementation science can help in understanding the most effective ways to build infrastructure and support delivery of such approaches. In this theoretical paper, we describe the implementation of the Positive Parenting Program (Triple P), an evidence-based population-level parenting program in South Carolina.

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care Access Are Associated with Adverse Childhood Experiences.

There is a growing body of research documenting racial/ethnic differences in the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and negative health outcomes in adulthood. However, few studies have examined racial/ethnic differences in the association between ACEs and health care access. Cross-sectional data collected from South Carolina's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2014-2016; n = 15,436) was used to examine associations among ACEs, race/ethnicity, and health care access among South Carolina adults.

Exploring practitioner and policymaker perspectives on public health approaches to address Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in South Carolina.

Objective: We examined the perspectives of child and family-serving professionals (CFSP) and state policymakers on protective factors to develop policy and program recommendations including current and needed approaches for addressing ACEs.

Methods: In 2018, we conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 23 CFSP and 24 state policymakers in South Carolina. Data were analyzed applying the Multiple Streams Theory using thematic analyses.

Moderating the Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences to Address Inequities in Tobacco-Related Risk Behaviors.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can increase the risk of engagement in unhealthy behaviors including tobacco use. Protective factors, such as safe, stable, and nurturing relationships (SSNRs) can potentially moderate the long-term impact of ACEs by helping children build resilience. However, there is limited research on whether the impact of these factors is stronger among Black children and families, who face disproportionately poorer health outcomes compared to their White counterparts.

The Empower Action Model: A Framework for Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences by Promoting Health, Equity, and Well-Being Across the Life Span.

The empower action model addresses childhood adversity as a root cause of disease by building resilience across multiple levels of influence to promote health, equity, and well-being. The model builds on the current evidence around adverse childhood experiences and merges important frameworks within key areas of public health-the socio-ecological model, protective factors, race equity and inclusion, and the life course perspective. The socio-ecological model is used as the foundation for this model to highlight the multilevel approach needed for improvement in public health.

Addressing Health and Well-Being Through State Policy: Understanding Barriers and Opportunities for Policy-Making to Prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in South Carolina.

Purpose: As adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) become increasingly recognized as a root cause of unhealthy behaviors, researchers, practitioners, and legislators seek to understand policy strategies to prevent and mitigate its effects. Given the high prevalence of ACEs, policies that address ACEs can meaningfully prevent disease in adulthood and improve population health. We sought to understand barriers and opportunities for policies to prevent and mitigate ACEs by exploring state legislator perspectives.

Homelessness in Childhood and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

Objectives Research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) has provided a valuable framework for understanding associations between childhood maltreatment and family dysfunction and later poor health outcomes. However, increasing research suggests the number and types of childhood adversities measured warrants further examination. This study examines ACE exposure among adults who experienced homelessness in childhood, another type of childhood adversity.

Safe, Stable, and Nurtured: Protective Factors against Poor Physical and Mental Health Outcomes Following Exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

Protective factors can build resilience and potentially moderate the long-term impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). To better understand the role of protective factors, this study examines the relationship of two protective factors focused on safe, stable and nurturing relationships, ACEs, and self-reported mental and physical health outcomes among a representative adult sample from the South Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Protective factors were assessed as potential moderators of ACEs and poor self-reported physical and mental health in multivariate logistic regression analyses.

Prioritizing Possibilities for Child and Family Health: An Agenda to Address Adverse Childhood Experiences and Foster the Social and Emotional Roots of Well-being in Pediatrics.

Objective: A convergence of theoretical and empirical evidence across many scientific disciplines reveals unprecedented possibilities to advance much needed improvements in child and family well-being by addressing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), promoting resilience, and fostering nurturance and the social and emotional roots of healthy child development and lifelong health. In this article we synthesize recommendations from a structured, multiyear field-building and research, policy, and practice agenda setting process to address these issues in children's health services.

Methods: Between Spring of 2013 and Winter of 2017, the field-building and agenda-setting process directly engaged more than 500 individuals and comprised 79 distinct agenda-setting and field-building activities and processes, including: 4 in-person meetings; 4 online crowdsourcing rounds across 10 stakeholder groups; literature and environmental scans, publications documenting ACEs, resilience, and protective factors among US children, and commissioning of this special issue of Academic Pediatrics; 8 in-person listening forums and 31 educational sessions with stakeholders; and a range of action research efforts with emerging community efforts.

Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences Through the Affordable Care Act: Promising Advances and Missed Opportunities.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) occur when children are exposed to trauma and/or toxic stress and may have a lifelong effect. Studies have shown that ACEs are linked with poor adult health outcomes and could eventually raise already high health care costs. National policy interest in ACEs has recently increased, as many key players are engaged in community-, state-, and hospital-based efforts to reduce factors that contribute to childhood trauma and/or toxic stress in children.