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[Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site — abuseresearch.info — that focuses on the health effects of abuse, and includes research articles on ACEs science. Every month, she's posting the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only the science of ACEs. Thank you, Harise!! -- Jane Stevens] Tang R, Howe LD, Suderman M, et. al. Adverse childhood experiences, DNA methylation age acceleration, and cortisol in UK children. Clin...

By P. Berman This game lasts so long! I want to get up…wait, what is that? Davy was so tired of sitting for the football game. But he didn’t want to leave Mr. Carson alone. Then, he heard it. Dare he look up? Davy looked at Mr. Carson- yes, he was asleep and snoring! Davy very slowly unfolded his legs- he didn’t cry out even though his legs were cramping. He crawled on his hands and knees out of the living room. I am almost out! I can run upstairs and play. Oh no! Davy could almost taste it,...

Photo by @nickcapturesva via @rvamag on Instagram Change is rippling across Virginia and throughout the world. From Minneapolis to Bristol, the call that Black Lives Matter is ringing out with strength and clarity. Thanks to the work of community organizers and activists, hope is echoing in the midst of year full of so much despair and uncertainty. In Richmond, we’ve seen Confederate statues given the historical context they’d so long been missing, connected to a history of enslavement and...

People are angry. Angry about institutional racism, angry about racial profiling, angry about police brutality, and angry about so many other displays of inequity that are happening in our country. People of color have always been marginalized in our society and people of all colors are finally saying enough is enough.

The brand new book, The Power of Discord: Why the Ups and Downs of Relationships are the Secret to Building Intimacy, Resilience, and Trust was the topic of one of our A Better Normal series discussion last week. We were honored to be joined by the co-authors, Ed Tronick, Ph.D., and Claudia Gold, MD. More about each of the authors and the book can be found here and this A Better Normal community discussion is below. Selected q uotes from the book are below: FROM MANAGING TO LISTENING “...I...

By Karl G. Hill, Jennifer A. Bailey, Christine M. Steeger, JAMA Pediatrics, June 8, 2020 Key Points Question Might a universal social-developmental intervention in childhood show sustained benefits across generations? Findings In this nonrandomized controlled trial, significant differences in the offspring of individuals (now parents) who had received the intervention in childhood were observed across 4 domains: improved early-childhood developmental functioning, lower teacher-rated...

From Maryland Governor's Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services, June 2020 This list of resources has been compiled by the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services. This page will be updated periodically with new resources and information. For daily updates on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak and the response by the State of Maryland, please visit the Maryland Department of Health Coronavirus Page: https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/ [...

In response to the police brutality and racism that caused the deaths of George Floyd , Ahmaud Arbery , Breonna Taylor and countless other African Americans and people of color, ACEs Connection supports the worldwide protests demanding racial justice. Integrating practices and policies based on the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACES) — being trauma-informed — requires us to be racially just. Our organization's vision is a world where all people thrive. Our goal is to prevent...

By Nicole R. Karcher, Tara A. Niendam, and Deanna M. Barch, Schizophrenia Research, June 8, 2020 Abstract Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with increased risk for psychotic-like experiences (PLEs). However, ACEs and PLEs are also both associated with several shared factors (e.g., internalizing symptoms, suicidality). Few studies have explicitly examined whether the association between ACEs and PLEs remains over and above shared correlates. To address this question, using...

By Rachel Velcoff and Steven Adelsheim, Stanford Children's Health, June 8, 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the lives of families across the country and left many adults feeling stressed, anxious, and struggling to cope. It has also put the mental health of our youngest and most vulnerable at risk. Now, three months into the pandemic, youth are experiencing further stress and trauma, as our country grapples with another profound crisis: the murder of George Floyd and the...

An open letter to my people who are White and sincerely want to show up in their inter-cultural relationships during this time. SUNSHINE MUSE JUN 9, 2020 10:15AM ET Dear friends who are white and privileged by virtue of that categorization (not necessarily because of wealth, intention or ethnic background), If you are receiving this it’s because we have gone through some beautiful things together and/or we have been a significant support for each other as a friend or colleague. This is...