Balancing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) with HOPE - PowerPoint Presentation

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Balancing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) with HOPE2017 Casey Family Programs

(HOPE = Health Outcomes of Positive Experiences)

Discussion Points

The effects of Positive Experiences on Child Development and Adult Health

How Positive Childhood Experiences Affect Adult Well-Being

Current Norms Supporting Positive Parenting Practices

The Norms of American Adults Regarding Their Readiness to Address Child Maltreatment

The Science of Thriving

While ACEs are important, an exclusive focus on adverse experiences risks labeling children and their families, and it neglects to turn attention toward the possibility for flourishing even in the face of adversity and the promotion of the positive experiences that children need.

Effects of Positive Experience on Child Health

Childhood resilience is related to three parental attributes:

1. They and their parents could discuss things that mattered

2. Parents participated in their child’s activities and knew their friends

3. Parents managed their own stress around parenting

Additionally, 2/3 of children with no ACEs had mothers who reported being in very good or excellent physical and mental health.

Resilient children, even those who have suffered four or more adverse experiences- have better functional (school) and health outcomes.

Positive relationships and environment buffer the impact of ACEs across all levels of household income.

Effects of Positive Experiences on Adult Health

The positive experiences with the greatest protective impact for those with four or more ACEs included

feeling that your family (and friends) stood by you in hard times and having someone to talk with about difficult feelings.

Factors that moderate the effects of more then 3 ACEs on adult depression, health and smoking rates:

Family stood by me

Felt supported by friends

Sense of belonging at high school

Enjoyed community traditions

Current Norms Supporting Positive Parenting

Most parents, across ethnicities endorsed the following:

Catch a child being good

Respond to crying

Play or read

Give child words

Seldom/never spank

Seldom never fight

Less than 20% of parents endorsed:

Ask for help with parenting

American adults readiness to address child maltreatment

Adults are aware that child abuse and neglect is a serious problem, but are not aware that emotional neglect and other ACEs can also impact children.

Most adults believe they would take action if they suspected a child was being abused, and if they believe that other adults would intervene, they are more likely to do so themselves.

Reasons why adults do not intervene includes: fear of making situation worse for the child, concerns about personal safety, fear of retaliation, lack of knowledge of how to

intervent

Adults may not intervene in cases where the abuse/neglect is subtler.

Adults do not view community participation and volunteering as preventive

Summary of Findings

Advance a positive Construct of health and HOPE to promote the benefits of positive relationships and experiences. “Child development requires the affirmative presence of positive experiences including safe, stable, and nurturing environments. The simple prevention or mitigation of ACEs itself cannot foster normal child development.”

Summary of Findings

Invest in science-aligned interventions that support positive parenting practices to promote healthy child development and multi-generational approaches that build the essential social, emotional, and executive functioning in skills in children and adults that are critical to well-being and successful parenting and workforce engagement.

Summary of Findings

Specify, develop and deploy a common set of positive experiences and health metrics that are integrated with existing factors and research contexts. Trauma-informed policies and practices should be balanced with HOPE-informed measures to create a more even approach to working with children and families.

Summary of Findings

Establish policies, to generate opportunities for parents, communities and society to advance positive experiences for all children. Policies should be grounded in the latest evidence, not just informed by it.

Summary of Findings

Enable innovation and implementation of best practices by setting in place concrete supports to facilitate the widespread innovation and learning required to translate and tailor messages, interventions and systems change approaches to promote positive relationships, positive parenting, and positive well-being among children and families.