Can Early Trauma Last A Lifetime?

A social movement has been gaining steam in the past decade as we’ve learned more about the way trauma can affect our physical and psychological health.

A study more than twenty years ago, first came up with a way to assess the impact of childhood neglect, abuse and family dysfunction. Now, advocates are getting traction with “trauma-aware” campaigns and coalitions. School districts, communities, states and even countries are investing in trauma awareness, training and screening.

Nearly half the kids under 18 in the U.S. have had an adverse experience or serious trauma. The original study concluded that the more traumas early in life… lead to poor health outcomes later on. That research got almost no attention when it was published in 1998, however today, its findings are considered ground-breaking.

But some say using such a rubric to assess a person’s experience won’t work for everyone and may simply label and limit their future potential.

If you are in West Virginia and learn more about Adverse Childhood Trauma or “ACEs,” contact the West Virginia ACEs Coalition.

If you are anywhere else in the world and would like to know more about “ACEs,” reach out to PACEs Connection.

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and CRC Foundation.

This program is made possible by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 through the West Virginia Humanities Council. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations do not necessarily represent those of the West Virginia Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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