Understanding the biology linking childhood trauma to long-term health problems
Children who experience abuse or neglect, or grow up in unstable environments, have a greater risk of health problems including asthma, cognitive delays, obesity, heart disease and cancer, throughout their lives.
Screening for adverse childhood experiences to reduce toxic stress
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)—including abuse, parental divorce, or having substance abuse in the household—which can induce a toxic stress response linked to a lifetime of health problems.
Children’s separation from parents, prolonged detention, threaten long-term health
Migrant children separated from their parents at the U.S. southern border and held for prolonged periods in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions will likely suffer lasting harm from their experiences.
Reducing childhood poverty’s toxic effects
Poverty can make it difficult for children to succeed, both as kids and as adults, according to Scott Delaney, a doctoral student at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Delaney is examining how to reduce the negative…
Childhood adversity disproportionately affects minority groups
A large national study has found that adverse experiences in childhood, such as parental separation or divorce, child abuse, or domestic violence, are common across the U.S. But these experiences are more prevalent among minority groups, including people…
How toxic stress can impact children separated from parents
Children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border may be at risk of toxic stress, which could cause an array of health problems later in life, according to Jack Shonkoff, Julius B. Richmond FAMRI Professor of Child…
Harnessing the science of child development in policymaking
A new paper from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University outlines ways that policymakers and others can use the science of child development to guide choices affecting children and families.
Protecting children from the trauma of gun violence, racism
The nation’s pediatricians are launching new efforts to help their young patients avoid being traumatized by gun violence and racism. In July 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued recommendations to shield children from media violence, and…
New report calls for science-based approach to early childhood development
Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child on May 4, 2016 released a report, From Best Practices To Breakthrough Impacts, that calls for a new era of research & development (R&D) in early childhood policy and practice in order…
Striving and thriving: Reducing the effects of adversity on early childhood development
April 3, 2015—It’s estimated that half of the 500 million children in low- and middle-income countries will face physical or cognitive developmental challenges. That eye-opening number set the tone for the second annual State of Global Health Symposium…
