ABSTRACT
Treating childhood trauma and facilitating attachment between children and their parents is challenging work. Nonetheless, it’s important work because the future prospects for untreated traumatized children are even more daunting. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study, an ongoing collaboration between Kaiser Permanente and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, compiles data on adults’ exposure to adverse childhood experiences and links the number of these traumatic experiences with poor health outcomes in adulthood. The study focused on 10 types of childhood trauma, including sexual, verbal, and physical abuse; family dysfunction caused by a mentally ill or alcoholic parent; a mother who is a victim of domestic violence; an incarcerated family member; loss of a parent through divorce or abandonment; and emotional and physical neglect.
