James Donaldson on Mental Health - How States Can Prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences Through Stability, Safety, and Support

By Juno Dolan Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) open_in_new can have lasting effects on health and well-being.

ACEs include traumatic events in a child’s life like abuse, neglect, substance abuse in the household, and witnessing violence in the home or community.

Research suggests that individuals who experience at least four ACEs open_in_new are at increased risk for poor health outcomes, making ACEs prevention a foundational strategy for reducing chronic disease open_in_new , suicide open_in_new , overdose open_in_new , and mental health-related harms open_in_new .

The strategies for preventing ACEs open_in_new focus on changing policies, social norms, and behaviors to ensure safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments that help children reach their full potential.

These relationships and environments are essential to creating positive childhood experiences open_in_new , such as expanding access to community resources that promote stability and prosocial connections for youth, which provide a buffer against the negative effects of ACEs open_in_new .

Everyone has a role to play in promoting positive childhood experiences and preventing the harmful effects of ACEs.

Upstream policies that tackle these issues holistically open_in_new can prevent ACEs, overdose, suicide, and mental health challenges.

Recent state legislative policies supporting ACEs prevention strategies address these upstream issues by promoting stable housing, improving the environment in which children live, and implementing teacher training policies.

Housing Stability Housing instability open_in_new can cause physical and mental health challenges, stress, depression, suicide, and increase the risk of overdose open_in_new .

Policies that support stable, safe, and affordable housing reduce the chance of experiencing ACEs open_in_new as well as other behavioral health-related harms.