{"id":9357,"date":"2019-08-08T07:52:08","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T07:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/?p=9357"},"modified":"2021-04-22T16:44:58","modified_gmt":"2021-04-22T16:44:58","slug":"15-prevailing-signs-of-adverse-childhood-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/15-prevailing-signs-of-adverse-childhood-experiences\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Prevailing Signs of Adverse Childhood Experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Current research has shown that children who experience emotional trauma may have an effect on whether certain types of physical and mental diseases are experienced during adulthood. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may include, divorce, loss of a parent, emotional neglect, physical neglect, parental abandonment, living with a mentally ill or addicted family member, and verbal humiliation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of these adverse childhood experiences can harm the developing brain and this may predispose the child to heart disease, autoimmune disease, depression, cancer, and many other chronic conditions long after the trauma occurred, sometimes even decades after the experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have suffered from adverse childhood experiences, there are some mental and physical health symptoms that you may suffer from as a result. These may also be the result of simple genetics or other factors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are 8 signs or symptoms that are often related to adverse childhood experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Mental Health Indicators<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There has been a link found between those who have a high ACE-Q score and emotional distress, relationship problems, work performance, financial issues, high levels of stress<\/a>, the inability to control anger, and current familial issues. Adverse childhood experiences such as abuse, dysfunction in the household and indicators of worker performance of an impaired adult all can lead to many of these mental health issues as an adult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, a person who has suffered from any type of adverse childhood experience may end up with several mental health issues that can be impacting their day to day life. These are the result of the experience and without help can often be difficult to overcome. In fact, many people do not realize that these mental health issues can be treated and are very relatable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing that there is a problem is often the first step in overcoming this type of mental health disorder that has been caused by the trauma during childhood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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2. Depression<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For a person who has an adverse childhood experience, the risk for depression <\/a>is much higher. For those with a history of exposure to emotional abuse, the risk for developing or suffering from depression is especially accentuated. There have been some studies that have not found a significant dose\/response relationship between adverse childhood experience and depression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there is a categorical link between components of depression and depression such as feelings of hopelessness or thoughts of suicide and higher ACE-Q scores among women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, the association between depression and higher ACEs is detectable among adults of all ages. This includes the elderly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the studies may not have a direct correlation between experiencing an adverse childhood experience and developing depression as an adult, there have been many variables and links that show that experiencing any type of trauma as a child may lead to depression as an adolescent and throughout adulthood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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3. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When people hear the term post-traumatic stress disorder<\/a>, most think about someone who has come home from war. However, anyone that experiences any type of trauma may develop post-traumatic stress disorder. Children who have experienced adverse experiences during their childhood are more likely to develop PTSD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one study it was found that children who suffered from adverse childhood experiences were more likely to experience what is known as child autobiographical memory disturbances. This occurs when a person cannot recount a large portion of their childhood. This is most likely because of the traumatic experiences they had when they were a child. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soldiers who have experienced active duty and who also had adverse childhood experiences were found to be more likely to experience PTSD when returning home than active-duty soldiers who had no such childhood experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has been researching to show a direct link between developing PTSD as an adult and having adverse childhood experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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4. Psychosis<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There have been several studies conducted that have found a link between experiencing sexual abuse as a child and the development of psychosis as an adult. Data from a national psychiatric survey conducted in England found that children who experienced sexual abuse were more likely to experience symptoms of psychosis <\/a>during their later years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there has not been a lot of research done that uses the ACE-Q on patients who are suffering from psychotic spectrum disorders. In the first ACE cohort, it was found that around 2 percent of the patients sampled had reported that they had hallucinations at some point in their life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, those who had a score of 7 or more on the ACEs were five times as likely to report that they had suffered from hallucinations. Most of the time the trauma experienced as a child included some type of abuse or neglect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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4. Nicotine Use<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There have been multiple studies conducted that show there is a relationship between smoking <\/a>and a person\u2019s ACE score. The associations between the use of nicotine and those with higher ACE scores were strengthened in individuals that grew up after warnings were placed on cigarettes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This suggests that the score on an ACE show that the vulnerability to nicotine addiction is impervious to anti-smoking educational initiatives and social pressures. Any exposure to each of the categories of the ACE increases a person\u2019s risk of current and lifetime use of cigarettes. In fact, for each increase of the ACE score the risk of smoking increases by 20 percent to 30 percent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another study that was conducted showed similar results. This study found that the scores of both former and current smokers were higher. This study went as far as to suggest that there is also a correlation between a person\u2019s ACE score and the ability to achieve smoking cessation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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5. Alcohol Consumption<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Similar to smoking, the score on an ACE-Q evaluation varies inversely with the age drinking alcohol <\/a>begins. There are multiple categories of adverse childhood experiences that increase the likelihood that a person will start drinking during early adolescence instead of waiting until they are adults. Adverse childhood experiences are associated directly with the association of ever using alcohol as well as starting the use of alcohol during younger years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been several studies that have investigated how the use of alcohol by parents affected a person\u2019s use of alcohol. There is a connection between the use of alcohol by parents and the score of ACE. this suggests that the disorders from alcohol use in parents will facilitate the flow of higher ACE-Q scores in several categories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alcoholic parents tend to lead to several adverse childhood experiences. This increases a person’s risk of later developing depression and a dependency on alcohol. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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6. Use of Illicit Drugs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Similar to nicotine <\/a>and alcohol, adverse childhood experiences such as neglect, abuse, and overall household dysfunction increases a person\u2019s risk of using illicit drugs. The studies that have been done on higher ACE-Q scores have indicated that the odds of using illicit drugs and addictions increase with each positive ACE category. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, a higher number of adverse childhood experiences does not only increase a person\u2019s risk of becoming addicted to certain types of illicit drugs, but it also increases the risk of developing the psychiatric consequences that are often associated with the use of illicit drugs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among people who use methamphetamine, those who had above 3 ACEs when compared to those who had zero ACEs were four and a half times more likely to have a personal history of psychosis. Adverse childhood experiences also increased the risk of developing psychosis from the use of methamphetamines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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7. Suicide<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Studies conducted on both specific and general populations have shown that there is a link between ACE scores and both suicidal attempts and ideation. Another study that was conducted found that there was a similar association when the sample was analyzed over the risk of attempting suicide <\/a>as an adult. This study found that there were persistent effects of adverse childhood experiences that lasted throughout adulthood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adjustments were made for alcoholism, illicit drug use and depression and these reduced the relationship between the correlation. However, there was still a significant correlation found between experiencing adverse childhood traumas and attempted suicide or suicidal tendencies and thoughts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who have a higher ACE-Q score, the risk of suicide is higher. Seeking help through these thought processes is extremely important. However, many people who suffer from these thoughts do not get the help that they need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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8. Perpetration, Victimhood, and Aggression<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One study that was focused on the areas of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and having a mother who was battered found that the odds of becoming a female victim of partner violence or being a male perpetrator of violence against an intimate partner increased based on ACE-Q scores that were 1, 2, or 3 in the above listed adverse childhood experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a more general sample of offenders of the above crimes, including those who were non-sexual child abusers, domestic violence<\/a> offenders, and sexual offenders had 4 times as many adverse childhood experiences as the control group. It is notable that aggression is linked to other mental health issues. Intimate partner aggressors tend to have higher ACEs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, aggression, PTSD, and a higher ACE-Q are all intertwined. Overall, it has been found that the higher a person scores on the ACE-Q, the more likely they are to develop several types of mental disorders including addiction to illicit drugs, tobacco, and alcohol. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\r\n

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