What are Counter ACEs? Understanding How to Prevent and Reduce the Impacts of Trauma

Last month we shared a blog about ACEs (What are ACEs? Understanding the Impacts of Trauma), or adverse childhood experiences, that include abuse, neglect, and a variety of environmental factors that threaten a child’s sense of safety and security. ACEs create a higher risk for behavioral, psychological, and even health problems. Because of the negative impacts they have on an individual’s future, it’s essential for us to advocate for positive childhood experiences (PCEs) that can counter the effects of ACEs. Whether you are a guardian, neighbor, or a community member, you play a vital role in reducing the vulnerability of children.

Social scientists have studied the experiences and circumstances that can counter the impacts of ACEs, or provide resiliency and wellbeing for those who experienced them. Two different studies that were published in 2019 show evidence of circumstances that can fight against the negative effects of ACEs. One study referred to these as counter-ACEs, the other referred to them as Positive Childhood Experiences, or PCE's (Crandall et. al, 2019; Bethell et. al, 2019). Both play the same role in a child's life- building resiliency and healing trauma.

Counter ACEs: 

• Liking school

• Teachers who care

• Opportunities to have fun

• A predictable home routine

• Feeling comfortable with yourself

• A caregiver with whom you feel safe

• Beliefs that provide comfort 

• Good friends and neighbors

Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs):

• Family you can talk to 

• Family who is supportive

• Community traditions

• A sense of belonging in school 

• Caring relationships with two non-parent adults

• Being protected by an adult in the home 

The child’s community plays a critical role in providing positive childhood experiences that change the trajectory of a child’s life and how they respond to stress as adults.

Childhood is when coping skills are developed and also when a stress threshold is established. “Toxic stress” is extreme, long-lasting stress that exceeds a child’s ability to cope, especially when they do not have supportive guardians helping them navigate challenges (Learning Lumen 2022). ACEs cause toxic stress and lead to excessive activation of the stress-response system which can lead to long-lasting wear and tear on a child’s body and brain. Continual exposure to high levels of the stress hormone cortisol can even reduce the size of a child’s hippocampus and affect a child’s memory and reduce their immunity to disease. This will also cause a child to be hypersensitive to stress in the future (Center on the Developing Child, 2022). On the other hand, PCEs and counter-ACEs reduce stress, promote healthy coping skills, and foster supportive relationships that empower an individual to reach their full developmental potential.

Research demonstrates that ACEs are associated with an increased report of daily stress as an adult, in addition to negative health effects (Mosely-Johnson et.al 2021). There are many adverse childhood experiences that happen every day, such as living in an environment where guardians are divorced, ongoing physical and emotional abuse, family members with mental health problems, and other factors that threaten the safety and security of a child. When a child is a victim of these adverse childhood experiences on a daily basis, it is all the more crucial that they also experience daily PCEs to counter these ACEs. This is why it is vital to establish emotional and physical safety and security in a child’s life. Guardians, teachers, social workers, family members, friends, and neighbors play a critical role in providing positive childhood experiences that change the trajectory of a child’s life and how they respond to stress as adults. The more counter-ACEs a child has, the less severe the long-term physical and mental consequences.

“It is never too late to begin creating positive childhood experiences and provide an atmosphere of safety and security for a child. The more PCEs a child has, the more empowered they will be to have a future of mental and physical health.”

Together, we can use this information about PCEs to make our communities a safer place for children and decrease ongoing ACEs, as well as reduce the impact of past adverse experiences. It is never too late to begin creating positive childhood experiences and provide an atmosphere of safety and security for a child. The more PCEs a child has, the more empowered they will be to have a future of mental and physical health. Offering support to children and their families, including resources to help with sources of stress at home, is an optimal way to help prevent or stop ongoing ACEs.

If a child has already experienced multiple ACEs or a family is in need of mental health resources, working with a therapist is another great way to process trauma and reduce the risk of negative outcomes from ACEs. Rapha’s Hope and Healing Center partners with local foster care agencies and other child serving organizations in an effort to reach clients with the greatest needs and address the negative impacts ACEs have on a child’s life.

Find out more about the Hope and Healing Center here: rapha.center

Resources:

Crandall, Miller, Cheung, Novilla, Kirsten Lynneth, Glade, Novilla, M. Lelinneth, Magnusson, Leavitt, Barnes, Hanson (2019). ACEs and counter-ACEs: How Positive and Negative Childhood Experiences Influence Adult Health. Child Abuse and Neglect. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0145213419302662

Bethel PhD, MBA, MPH, Jones, MSW, Gombojav, MD, PhD (2019). Positive Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental and Relational Health in a Statewide Sample. Associations Across Adverse Childhood Experiences Levels. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2749336

Mosley-Johnson, Campbell, Garacci, Walker, Egede (2021). Stress that Endures: Influence of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Daily Life Stress and Physical Health in Adulthood. Journal of Affective Disorders. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032721001324

ACEs and Toxic Stress: Frequently Asked Questions (2022). Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/aces-and-toxic-stress-frequently-asked-questions/

Lumen Learning (2022). Lifespan Development. Lumen. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-lifespandevelopment/chapter/childhood-stress-and-development/