ACEs compound the risk of morbidity, mortality, and quality of life. For example, an ACEs score of 6 or more can shorten an individual's lifespan by as much as 20 years. No one is out of reach from the impact of ACEs, but some individuals are at higher risk due to disparities in access to quality health care, safe communities, and the ability to nurture safe, healthy, consistent relationships. When individuals are involved in the cycle of poverty, discrimination, and violence within a community, ACEs can also occur intergenerationally.
Though ACEs can have lasting impacts on brain development and function, the good news is that brains can develop new pathways and some effects can be reversed. One way to prevent the ongoing implications of ACEs is to build resilience — one's ability to respond to adversity. Increasing resilience is often low-cost and effective. Some ways to improve resilience in children are:
- Fostering a safe, stable, and supportive relationship with a parent/caregiver or other trusted adult,
- Supporting a child in making friends and building a supportive social network,
- Practicing for future adversity through problem-solving based play where you name emotions and practice coping skills (such as taking a deep breath),
- Normalizing asking for helping and don’t rush in to solve children’s problems,
- Modeling resiliency and coping skills, including repairing damaged relationships and being accountable for mistakes, and
- Complimenting children on their strengths and teaching them to embrace mistakes.
There's a lot more to know about ACEs and resiliency research!
The Center recently partnered with the Montana DPHHS Improvement Office State Health Improvement Plan workgroup to develop a state-based resource on Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resiliency. The resource includes more information on this topic — fact sheets, professional articles, videos, books, and much more.
