|
|
Preventing Trauma
and Its Consequences
A Series Brought to You By The South Southwest PTTC
|
|
In this Issue:
- Understanding Protective Childhood Experiences
- Additional Resources on Resilience
- What's Happening Around the Region?
- Session Four of the Five-Part Webinar Series on Preventing the Effects of Trauma, June 24, 1:30 CT
- New Online Courses: Ethics in Prevention Foundations: A Guide for Substance Misuse Prevention Practitioners
-
Epi Corner: Preparing for the Pandemic Aftermath: Monitoring Trends in Behavioral Health
|
|
Understanding Protective Childhood Experiences
By Fabricia Prado
From the World Health Organization positive construct, health is more than the absence of adversity: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” It is only fair and logical to consider that while some factors will impair health and optimal development, others will enhance it. Modern prevention professionals address and monitor the influences on behavior (risk/adverse and protective factors) to prevent unhealthy behavior and nurture development. In other words, we shouldn’t only focus on adverse experiences, but also protective experiences.
Protective childhood experiences (PCEs) are positive experiences and perceived support that may co-occur with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and attenuate its potential for negative health outcomes. The more we understand about which protective factors are the most helpful for different populations and desired health outcomes, the more communities can strategically plan to strengthen and support them to promote resilience and mitigate the toxic effects of ACEs. The ACE study and science offers hope by exposing resilient and self-healing communities. Advancements in neuroscience and positive psychology framework direct research focus to the factors that will contribute to better health.
A joint assessment of ACEs and PCEs may provide better contributions for resilience-based interventions focused on well-being development. According to Bethell et al. (2019) a cross-sectional study, an association of a PCE cumulative score and the frequency in which adults reported receiving social and emotional support were inversely correlated to depression and/or poor mental health. A more recent survey by Morris et al. (2021) collecting data from ethnically diverse families, asked parents to complete a 10-item ACEs questionnaire as well as a 10-item protective and compensatory experiences (PACES) questionnaire assessing relationships and resources. The results indicate that higher PACES are positively associated with parenting attitudes, practices, and behaviors related to nurturing parenting, higher income, and education. In addition, the study suggests that PACEs buffer associations between ACEs and harsh parenting attitudes. The ten protective experiences children need to prevent risk and promote resilience are:
- Caregivers who love them unconditionally,
- At least one best friend,
- Regular opportunities to help others,
- Involvement in organized sport groups,
- Active membership in a civic group or faith-based youth group,
- An engaging hobby,
- An adult other than a parent they can trust,
- A home that is clean and safe with enough food to eat,
- Clear routines and rules,
- And a school that provides sufficient resources and academic experiences to learn.
While ACEs are correlated with negative family social and emotional health processes and resources, PCEs are positively associated with family health domains (Daines, Hansen, Novilla & Crandall, 2021). In addition, the resulting effects of such factors can be more long-term than one’s lifetime because they happen in the context of families’ behavioral patterns which are intergenerational. Therefore, both adverse and protective childhood experiences can have effects on the health of the family in adulthood and across multiple generations.
_________________________
Preamble to the Constitution of WHO as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19 June - 22 July 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of WHO, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948. The definition has not been amended since 1948.
Bethell C, Jones J, Gombojav N, Linkenbach J, Sege R. Positive Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental and Relational Health in a Statewide Sample: Associations Across Adverse Childhood Experiences Levels. JAMA Pediatr. 2019;173(11):e193007. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.3007
Daines, C.L., Hansen, D., Novilla, M.L.B. et al. Effects of positive and negative childhood experiences on adult family health. BMC Public Health 21, 651 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10732-w
Morris, A.S., Hays-Grudo, J., Zapata, M.I. et al. Adverse and Protective Childhood Experiences and Parenting Attitudes: the Role of Cumulative Protection in Understanding Resilience. ADV RES SCI (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42844-021-00036-8
|
|
About the Author
Fabricia Prado is a trilingual (Portuguese/Spanish/English) licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the state of Georgia. She is a certified Child and Adolescent Trauma Professional (CATP) and has received intensive training in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, and other trauma sensitive approaches.
Fabricia has obtained certification as an ACE Interface master trainer through the National Hispanic and Latino PTTC and is working to increase community awareness of the prevalence of ACEs and its public health impact utilizing evidence-based approaches for building resiliency in Hispanic and Latino organizations and communities.
|
|
Additional Resources on Resilience |
|
PACES Connection
PACEs Connection is a social network that supports communities to accelerate the global ACEs science movement, to recognize the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in shaping adult behavior and health, and to promote trauma-informed and resilience-building practices and policies in all communities and institutions — from schools to prisons to hospitals and churches — to help heal and to develop resilience instead of traumatizing already traumatized people.
Podcast Episode 41: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Innovation
Mid America Prevention Technology Transfer Center
This episode places a spotlight on the WHY and HOW we can be intentional about improving health equity in prevention practice.
Training: Exploring the Concept of Resilience: Implications for Native Health And Healing July 28, 2021
University of Oklahoma Outreach, College of Continuing Education, American Indian Institute
This webinar helps attendees to understand how people become survivors rather than victims. We will look at the opposite side of the coin to fear and anguish experienced by many survivors of troubled families.
Supplemental Research Bulletin: A Preliminary Look at the Mental Health and Substance Use-related Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic
SAMHSA, Disaster Technical Assistance Center
This edition of the Supplemental Research Bulletin reviews research through November 2020 on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected U.S. mental health and substance use. It also presents research on populations experiencing greater impacts, including youth, women, health workers, and racial and ethnic minorities.
|
|
National Week of Conversation
In an effort to foster productive dialogue, USA TODAY is partnering with the #ListenFirst Coalition for a week-long event creating one-on-one virtual discussions among thousands of Americans (18 and up) with different points of view.
Read more
americatalks.us
|
|
|
|
|
Juneteenth Virtual Celebration
Move for equity with supporters of 8CRE to celebrate the liberation of enslaved peoples in the US and promote health and wellness!
Read more
www.eventbrite.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
The South Southwest PTTC is continuing to suspend in-person training and meetings until further notice. Take advantage of our many virtual products and services available for free from our website.
|
|
The South Southwest Prevention Technology Transfer Center is on Social Media! Follow us on Twitter and like and subscribe to our channel on YouTube. |
|
Save the Date for the Last Session in the Series
Preventing Trauma and Its Consequences: Practical Steps for the Prevention Professional
A South Southwest Prevention Technology Transfer Center Webinar Series
Please join us in this webinar series as we come together to share the good news about the role of prevention in addressing ACE and other trauma. Together we'll learn the practical steps to preventing trauma and its consequences in your community.
Each webinar will begin at 1:30 p.m. CT and run for 90 minutes. Please join our email list or follow us on Twitter @SSWPTTC6 to receive notifications about specific topics and registration details.
Session 5: July 22 with Sean Byrne, MED, MCP, CPS, LPC-S
Review previously recorded sessions in the series on our website.
|
|
Prevention Online Courses
Free online courses are available through the Prevention Technology Transfer Center.
If you are new to prevention, be sure to take the course, "Introduction to Substance Abuse Prevention: Understanding the Basics (Pre-SAPST)" and the new "Ethics in Prevention Foundations: A Guide for Substance Misuse Prevention Practitioners."
|
|
New From SAMHSA
Prevention Core Competencies
Last month SAMHSA released prevention core competencies and accompanying knowledge, skills, and abilities to offer professional direction to the prevention field. These competencies affect staff development and career ladders and pipelines and provide guidance for training programs and service delivery qualification. Published May 2021
|
|
Epi Corner
Iris Smith, Ph.D., M.P.H.
South Southwest Prevention Technology Transfer Center
|
|
Preparing for the Pandemic Aftermath: Monitoring Trends in Behavioral Health
As we near the end of the pandemic crisis, it will be important to track local and state trends in critical data related to substance use and other behavioral health outcomes. National surveys during the pandemic have shown an increase in reported symptoms of anxiety and depression as well as an increased need for mental health services, including substance abuse treatment and prevention services.1
Between May 2019 and May 2020 there were 81,000 overdose deaths, the highest number ever recorded in a 12-month period.2, 3 More recent data is showing an ongoing rise in stimulant overdose deaths involving opioids. A UCLA cohort study of 83.7 million EMS patient encounters found that overdose-associated cardiac arrests rose about 40% nationally in 2020, with the largest increases among racial/ethnic minorities, in areas of socioeconomic disadvantage, and in western states. High concordance was observed with provisional total overdose death figures through July 2020.4
Research on suicide during previous epidemics (influenza, SARS and Ebola virus) suggests that although suicide rates might initially appear to be reduced following epidemics, they may increase over time. A systematic review and interrupted time series analysis of reported suicide rates in 21 countries, before and after the start of the pandemic, found that suicide rates did not increase during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.5
Ongoing data collection to identify changes in behavioral health indicators such as substance use and suicide will be important as the pandemic subsides. Information on emerging trends will help behavioral health providers and prevention specialists anticipate and prepare for post-pandemic service needs. Effective surveillance of emerging trends will require timely and accurate data. Rossen et al (2021) assessed the predictive validity of “nowcasting,” a statistical method used to generate provisional estimates of annual mortality data that is generally not available until 11-13 months after the close of the calendar year. This study used a multi-stage statistical process to determine the accuracy of prediction compared to provisional data that became available 6-11 months later. Multiple models using different assumptions about the timeliness of data were used to predict weekly counts of deaths and compared to reported provisional counts. The predicted weekly numbers of deaths in 2020 were then plotted against the average numbers of deaths in the corresponding weeks from early 2016 through October 24, 2020. This study found that on average predicted rates were within 5% of the eventual reported counts through April 5, 2020. Using novel statistical approaches such as nowcasting to estimate trends in behavioral health outcomes can yield more timely reporting of critical data during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Articles of Interest and Resources
_______________________________________________
1Vahatian A Blumberg SJ, Terlizzi EP, Schiller JS (2021). Symptoms of Anxiety or Depressive Disorder and Use of Mental Health Care Among Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic – United States August 2020 – February 2021. MMWR 2021 ;70 :490-494. Online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm701e2
2Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Press Release December 2020) Overdose Deaths Accelerating During Covid-19. Expanded Prevention Efforts Needed.
5Pirkis et al. (2021). Suicide Trends in the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic. An Interrupted Time-Series Analysis of Preliminary Data from 21 Cjountries. Lancet Published online https://doi.org/10.1016/522215-0366(21)00091-2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
