Adverse Childhood Experience and Their Effects on Children’s and Young People’s Mental Health

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are stressful and potentially traumatic experiences (e.g., violence, poverty, stigma, and forced migration) occurring during childhood that can affect children’s and adults’ mental and physical health. There are also positive childhood experiences (PCEs), such as good parenting practices, friendships, community support, which can buffer ACEs and lead to a positive adjustment during adversity. 

In Colombia, national surveys show that mental health issues are common among children and adolescents, particularly among those exposed to armed conflict. Data from the Global North (mainly Europe and North America) show that ACEs may lead to adverse mental health outcomes. However, the magnitude of the issue in Colombia is unclear as there is no local data on ACEs prevalence and their effects on children’s and young people’s health.

The project

This public health study will explore what positive and adverse events children and young people (primarily in Colombia) experience during childhood, and how this impacts their mental health and everyday lives. The project will involve collaborative work with researchers in Mexico and Chile. 

The project has three main aims: to generate local evidence on the magnitude and nature of Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences (PACEs) and their potential impacts on children’s and young people’s mental health, to inform policy making and practice related to ACEs and mental health in Colombia and Latin America and to co-produce (with children and young people) interventions to promote positive and nurturing structures, communities and environments in the midst of everyday adverse circumstances.

The process

The project has three interrelated stages:

1. A social diagnosis which has already been completed.
2. A national survey
3. Qualitative interviews

These will help build a more insightful and context specific picture of PACEs which will allow Dr Arias-Urueña and her team to inform health promotion/programmatic strategies for preventing ACEs and promoting PCEs, this with positive impacts on children’s and young people’s mental health.

The potential

The study will enable the design of better-informed interventions to tackle the factors and contexts that may lead to adversity (e.g., violence at home, stigma at school, harmful social norms), and to promote environments and relationships where children and young people feel safe and loved. The study’s findings will also inform policy and practice related to adversity, children’s and young people’s mental health, and healthcare in Latin America and potentially other regions in the world.