By Anna Heard, Photo: Unsplash, National Governors Association, August 10, 2022
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that can affect a person’s health, well-being and success into adulthood. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these dynamics by disrupting the lives of families. Over 140,000 children have lost a primary or secondary caregiver and, as a result of school disruptions, many children have become more socially isolated. These factors can negatively impact mental health, especially given many children across the nation were already experiencing poor mental health outcomes before the pandemic began. In February 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report that describes children’s mental health trends from 2013 to 2019 based on federal analysis. About one in five (20.9 percent) children and adolescents aged 12-17 years had experienced a major depressive episode, and 36.7 percent of high school students in 2019 reported persistently feeling sad or hopeless in the past year. The report also mentions the lack of a comprehensive way to evaluate children’s mental health and notes that there is limited data on positive indicators like resilience, meaning the ability of youth to overcome the challenges they have faced. Addressing these issues is critical since long-term effects of ACEs linger throughout the lifespan and can lead to mental health and substance use disorders into adulthood.
ACEs Learning Collaborative And Trauma-Informed States
States have a vital role to play in preventing and addressing ACEs and supporting efforts to address crisis, mental health and the long-term effects of trauma. The National Governors Association (NGA) has supported states in their efforts on ACEs, trauma and resiliency through multiple projects over the years. In 2020 and 2021, NGA and the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) convened five states (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wyoming) as part of a technical assistance project focused on statewide approaches to address ACEs. This work culminated in the publicationState Actions to Prevent and Mitigate Adverse Childhood Experiences.
Comments (0)