The Lifelong Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Health

Dear Colleagues,

Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACE) is a prevalent public health concern worldwide, resulting in extensive costs on both an individual and a societal level. The effects of trauma go far beyond its immediate psychological and physical effects. It can change biology and behavior throughout a person’s lifetime, significantly affecting interpersonal and intergenerational relationships. Exposure to trauma is particularly harmful when it occurs during childhood or adolescence, disrupting numerous aspects of cognitive, emotional, and social development, with long-term consequences for learning and memory, educational outcomes, emotional functioning, and social relationships, and resulting in an elevated risk of re-victimization, mental disorders, physical diseases, and criminal behaviors. The effects of traumatic exposure extend far beyond the symptoms of post-traumatic disorder (PTSD) and related disorders, with complex trauma assuming a high prevalence in persons that have experienced ACE. Research has also documented the relationships between exposure to traumatic events, impaired neurodevelopmental and immune systems responses and subsequent health risk behaviors resulting in chronic physical or behavioral health disorders. ACE are also prevalent in youth with delinquent behaviors and in incarcerated persons.

ACE do not solely occur at random; they can be influenced by individual characteristics, peer group relationships, community characteristics, and socio-political factors. At the individual level, for example, the likelihood of experiencing particular types of trauma varies by sex, age, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation, community and socio-political factors.

Dr. Ângela Rosa Pinho Costa Maia
Dr. Mariana Gonçalves
Guest Editors

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• adverse childhood experiences
• trauma
• PTSD
• complex trauma
• psychological health
• physical health
• risk behaviors
• emotional regulation
• behavior regulation
• delinquent behavior
• criminal offense