The Potential of Early Intervention for Preventing and Reducing ACE-Related Trauma

Abstract

Too many children face disadvantages that negatively impact their health, happiness and future life chances. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) represent a particularly traumatic set of circumstances that have been found through research to dramatically increase the likelihood of poor adult physical and mental health outcomes. While we do not view ACEs to represent the only or necessarily the most serious risks to children’s development, we do recognise them to pose a substantial threat. This article identifies twenty-four interventions with causal evidence of preventing or reducing ACE-related trauma and considers how they could be offered through system-wide strategies aimed at improving the lives of children who are at the greatest risk. While we are not suggesting that these interventions – on their own or in combination – represent a magic solution to ACEs, or the wider societal issues that contribute to them, we do propose that knowledge about their effectiveness can improve the quality of services that support the needs of highly vulnerable children.