Science On Tap

Our childhood experiences shape who we become. I was lucky enough to be exposed to science at a young age, which spurred a biology college education and hopefully, a career. But, adverse experiences can shape us too, in devastating and lifelong ways.

Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, such as abuse, neglect, or having an incarcerated family member have a profound impact on one’s future.  They can have an impact even decades down the line; people who experienced ACEs are more likely to participate in risky behavior in adulthood, have chronic health conditions like heart disease and diabetes, and even die earlier.

There is much left to learn about the mechanisms of how ACEs influence adult outcomes and uncovering out these mechanisms is certainly not easy; it is difficult to tease out all of the factors that come into play during the development of an entire person’s life. Therefore, some researchers are looking at a smaller piece of the puzzle: how ACEs impact the lives of children. By understanding how ACEs influence children’s health, we can hope to understand the role ACEs play throughout their lives.

In two studies published over the last 3 years, Dr. Manuel Jimenez from Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School looked into how ACEs impact children’s health. In both studies, he used data from the Fragile Families and Wellbeing Study cohort. This data set is made up of 5,000 children born from 1998 to 2000 and to mostly unmarried parents. These children were tracked from ages 1 to 15 including data ranging from performance in school to ACEs to health.

In a study published in 2016, Jimenez and his coauthors studied this cohort and linked ACEs to lower literacy skills and increased behavioral problems in kindergarten. Moreover, in another study published in 2017, Jimenez linked ACEs to the diagnosis of ADHD at the age of 9.

Problems with reading and ADHD diagnoses significantly impact these children’s lives, especially in underserved communities where help may be limited. These results reinforce our need to prevent ACEs before they even happen.