Three-quarters of people report at least one adverse childhood event.
Positive childhood experiences play an important role in keeping people healthy — particularly among those who have experienced adversity in childhood.
Childhood trauma, like abuse, the death of a relative, having a family member in jail, addiction and divorce, can have serious health consequences later on.
Adults who survived these difficult childhood environments face higher risks of smoking, obesity, and depression later in life.
However, children who experience childhood adversity, but also have enough positive experiences to balance them out, can recover and thrive.
Positive experiences can include:
- Good friends and neighbours,
- opportunities to have fun,
- feeling safe with a caregiver,
- predictable home routines,
- regular mealtimes,
- and caring teachers.
All of these can help to reduce the harmful effects of childhood trauma.
Dr Ali Crandall, the study’s first author, said:
“If your child has experienced trauma and you’re worried about the long-term impact it could have on them, these findings show that the positive experiences in childhood lead to better adult physical and mental health, no matter what they have faced.”
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can also include abandonment and a relative with mental health problems.
Dr Crandall said:
“As bad as ACEs may be, the absence of these positive childhood experiences and relationships may actually be more detrimental to lifelong health so we need more focus on increasing the positive.”
Positive outweighs the negative
The conclusions come from a study of 246 people who completed an online survey.
While three-quarters of the participants reported at least one adverse childhood event — averaging nearly three per person — their positive experiences far outweighed the bad.
The average for positive experiences, though, was over 8.
The study found that no matter what people had been through as children, positive experiences helped them to recover and promoted better lifelong health.
Dr Crandall said:
“Other adults in a child’s life that are not the parent, like extended family, teachers, neighbors, friends and youth leaders all help to increase the number of counter ACEs and boosts lifelong health.”
The study was published in the journal Child Abuse & Neglect (Crandall et al., 2019).
