Adversarial childhood experiences have long-term impact on mental and emotional health

Adversarial childhood experiences (ACEs) are defined as a series of stressful or traumatic events including abuse, neglect or dysfunctions in the house (relatives with mental illness or in prison, witnessing domestic violence, etc.). These experiences can affect and damage cerebral and social development and compromise the immune system, in addition to resulting in substance abuse and other varieties of maladaptive coping strategies.

Until now, studies of those experiences have focused mainly on English-speaking countries like the USA, however the concept of abuse and its perceived severity could also be different depending on the cultural group. Because of this, the study considered whether the information obtained and the results on this context may very well be extrapolated to other countries or whether the basic importance of family values in collectivist societies corresponding to Spain may very well be an exceptional feature, either serving as a shock absorber or, in contrast, exacerbating the vulnerability of kids.

The conclusions offered by Dr Aitana Gomis Pomares, of the Department of Developmental, Educational and Social Psychology and Methodology at Universitat Jaume I in Castelló, show that the more traumatic or stressful experiences someone has, the greater the probability that they’ll develop behavioural or emotional problems during maturity. The evaluation was carried out in six studies: the primary three assessed the cumulative and differential impact of opposed experiences; the fourth included the validation of the Deviant Behaviour Variety Scale within the Spanish context, and the ultimate two assessed the chance of criminal recidivism in two ethnic minorities using the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory tool.

Individuals who have been victims of physical abuse are inclined to imitate the behaviour and adopt similar risk strategies as adults. In the event that they have been victims of emotional neglect (where, as children, they never felt special or necessary in a protective context), they show a scarcity of altruism, because they’re unable to develop the capability to like or look after others. Normally, the outcomes have also shown that there may be intergenerational transmission, which may affect up to 3 successive generations. For instance, substance abuse in the house predicts drug use and antisocial behaviour; having relatives in prison leads to the next arrest rate; and living with relatives with mental illness increases the likelihood of affected by depression, anxiety or stress.

The studies assessing the chance aspects for criminal recidivism in a population of juvenile offenders – a population that has often suffered many traumatic experiences and displays adapted behaviour – have shown that the predictive validity of the tool used (Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory, YLS/CMI) works in majority samples but not as accurately in minority samples. Within the case of the 2 ethnic minorities studied (Arab and Roma people), the outcomes show cultural differences involving the infringement of rights corresponding to equality before the law (as children from these two ethnic groups are rated as more in danger to other groups), and that the tools routinely used need reviewing to detect possible bias based on race or ethnic group.

American Psychological Association award

The studies are a part of the doctoral thesis supervised by the lecturer Lidón Villanueva Badenes and submitted by Aitana Gomis Pomares at the general public university in Castelló in April 2022. The American Psychological Association has presented the work, entitled “Minors in danger: opposed childhood experiences and youth offending”, with an award.

Yearly Division 37 of the American Psychological Association makes the award to studies of social policy, service provision, welfare and/or child protection. The division’s aim is to implement policies to guard children, young people and families, for instance through programmes to stop child abuse or provide therapy for violent juvenile offenders.

Aitana Gomis Pomares is a postdoctoral assistant lecturer in Developmental Psychology on the Universitat Jaume I in Castelló. She has a level in Psychology, with an official Master’s Degree in Legal Psychology, and holds a health care provider’s degree in Psychology with the International Distinction. She won an Outstanding Graduate Achievement Award in her Psychology degree and a university teaching scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Education within the DEVELOP research group (Development and Educational Contexts) on Developmental Psychology on the Universitat Jaume I in Castelló.

Her important line of research has focused on the study of kids in danger from a double perspective: child victims and child offenders, and she or he has produced several publications on this field, each in Spain and abroad. She has also carried out research visits on the University of Valencia, supervised by Dr Vicente Prado-Gascó, and on the ISPA-Institute of Applied Psychology in Lisbon, supervised by Dr Miguel Basto-Pereira.

She is currently a lecturer for the Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, and Early Childhood Education degree courses.