The long-term effects of childhood trauma have been subject to increased scrutiny by policymakers, practitioners and researchers as a growing body of evidence has drawn the links with mental health issues and other problems later on in people’s lives. In 2018, Rebecca Lacey from UCL’s ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies wrote for our blog…
Search Results for: Adverse Childhood Experiences
Unpicking childhood trauma and its later life effects
There has been increased focus in recent years on the mechanisms which link early childhood trauma with poorer health outcomes later in life. In 2018, Rebecca Lacey from UCL’s ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies led a major project looking into how such early adversities (ACEs) can be linked to increased risk of health conditions…
Taking a ‘positive’ look at child health development
Reducing, tackling and mitigating experiences that hurt or damage the physical and mental health of children as they grow up has been a major focus for policymakers, practitioners and researchers. In recent months research led by Rebecca Lacey looking at Adverse Childhood Experiences – their different impacts and lifecourse implications- has featured regularly on our…
Time to stop physical punishment and score equal rights for children
A piece of news that might have slipped under the radar for some in this challenging year is that Scotland became the 60th country in the world to make it illegal to physically punish a child under the age of 16. The law came into force as a result of an evidence review conducted by…
Pregnant and poor? Children likely to face many more challenges
Over the past two decades, an increasing amount of research on Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs)* has helped to highlight the importance of the early life social environment as a predictor of what a person’s health will be like as they get older. The research has shown that children who experience one trauma such as parental…
Time to ACE the way we measure the bad things that happen to children
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been a hot topic for policy work in child health and development in recent months. The Select Committee for Science and Technology announced an inquiry into evidence-based early-years interventions, with a particular focus on ACEs. Also a new All Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Childhood Adversities was set up….
Evidence for change: how do we improve the long term outcomes of children in care?
In a Child of our Time blog last year, a team of researchers from University College and Kings College London said it was time for ALL policy to consider the needs of care leavers. The call was based on research findings that have now fed into the just-published Independent Review of Children’s Social Care. The findings from…