Contents Overview
Childhood Trauma And Its Lasting Impact
Childhood trauma has more adverse effects than one might imagine- it can have a direct, lasting impact on physical health, mental health, and the ability to function in society. However, as a society, we had no idea of its full impact until the late 1990s, when a curious doctor made a groundbreaking discovery.
The ACE Study
Dr. Vincent Felitti, a renowned physician and researcher, led an obesity clinic at Kaiser Permanente. In the late 1980s, he noticed a strange pattern among many of his patients- those who successfully lost weight ended up gaining it back quickly. Some even dropped out of the program despite their success. This observation sparked his curiosity, prompting him to investigate further.
Dr. Felitti began interviewing patients to understand why they regained the weight. Through these interviews, he discovered that a significant number of them had a history of childhood trauma and abuse. This finding led him to consider obesity as a possible coping mechanism for unresolved trauma.
To explore this connection further, Dr. Felitti collaborated with the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) to survey over 17,000 adults about their exposure to various types of childhood trauma. These experiences were later termed Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The original ACEs study identified 10 categories of these experiences, which were grouped into three broad categories:
🛑 Abuse– physical, emotional, and sexual abuse
🛑 Neglect– physical and emotional neglect
🛑 Household dysfunction– domestic violence, substance abuse, untreated mental illness, parental separation or divorce or parental incarceration
The original study didn’t explore other forms of adversity, like environmental violence (war, gang violence, crime), relocation (moving, asylum-seeking, divorce), grief and loss, racism, prejudice or poverty.
Two Groundbreaking Findings
Even with its limited scope, the study had two findings that changed our understanding of childhood trauma forever:
1. Childhood trauma is extremely common.
⭕ 64% of people experienced at least one ACE.
⭕ 17.7% of children- one in six- experienced at least four ACEs.
⭕ 28% of women and 16% of men reported being sexually abused as children.
⭕ Since this study was conducted on a mostly middle-class white demographic, the rates in other populations are likely even higher.
2. Childhood trauma is directly correlated with negative health outcomes in adulthood.
💥 ACEs increase the risk of chronic diseases, mental health struggles, substance abuse and early death.
💥 With six ACEs, you’re twice as likely to have cancer and 15% more likely to have a chronic disease like heart, lung or liver disease.
💥 With four or more ACEs:
⭕ You’re 17 times more likely to struggle in school.
⭕ You’re 7 times more likely to become an alcoholic.
💥 Mental health impact:
⭕ People with no ACEs have a 12% chance of experiencing depression.
⭕ Men with ACEs have a 35% chance of depression.
⭕ Women with ACEs have a 66% chance of depression.
⭕ With an ACE score of six, there’s a 5,000% increase in suicide attempts.
⭕ ACEs are directly linked to one-third of adult mental health conditions.
By helping children grow up in safer homes, we could reduce depression rates by 44%.
The Broad Impact Of ACEs
The ACEs study was one of the first to demonstrate how childhood trauma has lasting effects on both physical and mental health. It also impacts:
💥 The ability to form healthy relationships
💥 Workplace performance
Nearly two-thirds of people experience at least one ACE, but with supportive adults, many can process their trauma. Unfortunately, one-third of children with an ACE had four or more, meaning they lived with recurring trauma that affected multiple aspects of their lives- often caused by their own caregivers.
The study found that the more ACEs a person experiences, the higher their risk for negative outcomes in adulthood.
The Cost Of ACEs On Society
In addition to personal suffering, childhood trauma is incredibly costly to society.
A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that ACEs cost the U.S. $14 trillion annually. These costs come from:
💥 Healthcare expenses
💥 Law enforcement
💥 Substance abuse treatment
💥 Incarceration
💥 Lost productivity due to disability, depression, and mental health issues
How Trauma Affects The Body
How does trauma increase the risk of disease?
Chronic exposure to stress in childhood leads to long-term changes in the body and brain, affecting how we respond to stress.
The body’s stress response system, known as the hypothalamic- pituitary- adrenal (HPA) axis, controls how we react to stress. When faced with stress, the HPA axis releases hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, triggering fight-or-flight mode, increasing heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar.
⭕ Healthy stress response: When children face adversity with supportive adults, they can develop resilience.
⭕ Chronic stress response: If children lack support or experience ongoing trauma, their sense of safety is never restored, leading to chronic stress and HPA axis dysregulation.
This dysregulation can manifest in two ways:
1. Hyperarousal (overactive stress response)– Constantly high cortisol levels damage cardiovascular, immune, and digestive systems.
2. Hypoarousal (underactive stress response)– The body shuts down, leading to depression-like symptoms and difficulty coping with stress.
Brain Changes And Stress Regulation
Childhood trauma also physically alters the brain:
💥 Amygdala (fear processing)- Becomes hyperactive, leading to increased anxiety and fear responses.
💥 Prefrontal Cortex (decision-making, impulse control)- Becomes weaker, making stress management harder.
💥 Hippocampus (memory, cognitive function)- Experiences impairments, making it harder to assess and respond to stress.
Can Childhood Trauma Be Treated?
Yes! As we learn more about trauma’s effects, better treatments have been developed.
✅ Trauma-informed care is now being used in schools, workplaces, and healthcare settings.
✅ Individuals can seek therapy, education, and healing experiences.
✅ Post-traumatic growth is possible. We can fully regulate our nervous systems, improve our stress response, and heal from even the most traumatic events.
Interested in how ACEs may have affected you? You can take the ACEs quiz on NPR.
Can Childhood Trauma Be Prevented?
Absolutely. We don’t want to just treat the effects of trauma- we need to prevent it.
A large CDC study found that ACEs prevention comes down to community support for families, including:
🍀 Strengthening marriages and supporting parents
🍀 Teaching people skills for work and financial security
🍀 Connecting families to free parenting resources
🍀 Volunteering in schools, reading to kids, and mentoring
🍀 Building strong community support systems
Even small actions- like working on your own healing- can help break generational trauma cycles. Yes- this is actually true. When you heal yourself, you heal your whole family line on an energetic level.
When children have a handful of supportive people, adversity can become a resilience factor instead of leading to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
Since you now know your role in helping to stop generational trauma, what’s one small step you’ll take this week to help prevent childhood trauma?
I’ll go first: I’ll check in on a friend who is a parent and offer emotional support.
