[Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site -- abuseresearch.info -- that focuses on the health effects of abuse, and includes research articles on ACEs. Every month, she will post the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only ACEs. Thank you, Harise!! -- Jane Stevens]
ACEs are only Part of the Picture
While there has been a refreshing and inspiring upswing in interest in ACEs over the past several years, and while ACEs are the foundation of what follows in life, many who care about different aspects of human abuse and violence are unaware of this important work. And similarly, those who are mainly focused on ACEs may miss out on interesting research findings from other groups.
For the past eight years on a monthly basis I have reviewed all of the research articles on the health effects of abuse that are indexed by the National Library of Medicine. “Health effects” is a somewhat broad term, as these articles may also encompass topics such as school learning abilities in children, police interactions with domestic violence calls, or legal issues relating to human trafficking. What started out as about 60 articles/month is now approaching 300/month.
Once a month I distribute a free summary, by category, of just the most important/educational/interesting articles along with a brief snapshot of each article and a link to the abstract. My hope is that while people may jump right to their area of interest (such as ACEs), even glancing through the other categories will be of value in sparking ideas, collaborations, and seeing how all of it is interconnected.
Because the articles are numerous, in these monthly blog posts on ACEs Connection, I will feature only the articles that address ACEs. For the entire list — and to find back issues as well as join the listserv — go to: http://abuseresearch.info/research.html
ACEs RESEARCH June 2017
Liu Z, Yang Y, Shi Z, Liu J, Wang Y.
The risk of male adult alcohol dependence: The role of the adverse childhood experiences and ecological executive function.
Compr Psychiatry. 2016 Jul;68:129-33. PMID: 27234193
For 102 alcohol-dependent male adult patients, the degree of ACEs > or =2 was 42.2% vs. 16.0% for healthy controls. Childhood physical neglect, parental substance abuse, and a deficit in emotional control showed strong association with adult alcohol dependence.
Zhong QY, Wells A, Rondon MB, Williams MA, Barrios YV, Sanchez SE, Gelaye B. Childhood abuse and suicidal ideation in a cohort of pregnant Peruvian women. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2016 Oct;215(4):501.e1-8. PMID: 27173085
Of 2970 Peruvian pregnant women, “The prevalence of antepartum suicidal ideation was higher among women who reported experiencing any childhood abuse compared to those reporting none (89.3% vs 10.7%, P < .0001), even after adjusting for potential confounders, including antepartum depression and lifetime intimate partner violence.” Risk of suicidality increased with increasing number of childhood abuse events.
Levenson JS, Willis GM, Prescott DS. Adverse Childhood Experiences in the Lives of Male Sex Offenders: Implications for Trauma-Informed Care.
Sex Abuse. 2016 Jun;28(4):340-59. PMID: 24872347
From a sample of 679 male sexual offenders, “Compared with males in the general population, sex offenders had more than 3 times the odds of child sexual abuse, nearly twice the odds of physical abuse, 13 times the odds of verbal abuse, and more than 4 times the odds of emotional neglect and coming from a broken home. Less than 16% endorsed zero ACEs and nearly half endorsed four or more.”
ACEs RESEARCH July 2017
Berg KL, Shiu CS, Acharya K, Stolbach BC, Msall ME.
Disparities in adversity among children with autism spectrum disorder: a population-based study.
Dev Med Child Neurol. 2016 Nov;58(11):1124-1131. PMID: 27251442
1611 children with autism spectrum disorder, compared to controls, were more likely to have experienced one to three adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Children with 4 or more ACEs were 3 times more likely to have increased severity of autism symptoms.
Bigras N, Godbout N, Hébert M, Sabourin S.
Cumulative Adverse Childhood Experiences and Sexual Satisfaction in Sex Therapy Patients: What Role for Symptom Complexity?
J Sex Med. 2017 Mar;14(3):444-454. PMID: 28202323
For 307 Canadian male and female adults consulting a clinic for sexual difficulties, 58.1% of women and 51.9% of men reported at least four forms of ACEs.
Wickham S, Bentall R.
Are Specific Early-Life Adversities Associated With Specific Symptoms of Psychosis?: A Patient Study Considering Just World Beliefs as a Mediator.
J Nerv Ment Dis. 2016 Aug;204(8):606-13. PMID: 27065105
For 72 adult patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia compared to controls, there was a dose-response relationship between cumulative ACEs and psychosis. Childhood sexual abuse predicted hallucinatory experiences, and childhood emotional neglect predicted paranoia.
Gonçalves H, Soares AL, Santos AP, et. al.
Adverse childhood experiences and consumption of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs among adolescents of a Brazilian birth cohort.
Cad Saude Publica. 2016 Nov 3;32(10):e00085815. PMID: 27828612
For 4230 Brazilian 15 year olds, ACEs were associated with the use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs in a dose-response fashion.
Korotana LM, Dobson KS, Pusch D, Josephson T.
A review of primary care interventions to improve health outcomes in adult survivors of adverse childhood experiences.
Clin Psychol Rev. 2016 Jun;46:59-90. PMID: 27179348
“Overall, cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT) have the most evidence for improving health problems - in particular, improving mental health and reducing health-risk behaviors - in adults with a history of ACEs. Expressive writing and mindfulness-based therapies also show promise.”
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