By Lloyd I. Sederer, Image: Discovery Productions/Fair Rights Usage, January 10, 2022
Who stormed the U.S. Capital on January 6, 2021? Who are the members of armed militias? Who sit riveted to the invective coming daily on the world-wide-web? Many have offered their (varied) psychological and demographic profiles. But what seems missing are those people who are under- and unemployed, with limited educations and a childhood littered with toxic, psychological trauma.
Recall, the groundbreaking, revelatory study by Kaiser and the CDC (1998) that introduced ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences)? This work was done predominantly with white families. ACEs include growing up in a household with: violence in the home or community; active substance use in one or both parents; a parent (or other family members) who has been incarcerated; neglect; and verbal physical and abuse (The CDC Violence Prevention/Injury Center).
ACEs are cumulative, with three or more predicting, by early adolescence, mental and physical disorders, dysfunction in school and life, and trouble with the law. While national studies report a higher incidence of ACEs in black and Hispanic families, they are quite common in white families as well.
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