Childhood Adversity
Childhood adversity and childhood traumas are also known as adverse childhood experiences or ACE’s.
ACE’s are a set of experiences that are known to produce developmental and mental health problems in later life and include:
- Physical Abuse
- Verbal Abuse
- Sexual Abuse
- Physical & emotional neglect
- Economic hardship
- Racial & gender prejudices
- Family trauma (divorce, dysfunctional parenting, etc.)
A dutch study conducted by Vink, Van der Pal, Eekhout, Pannebakker, & Mulder in 2016 showed that children between 11-12 years of age who have been exposed to childhood adversity are less happy and healthy than those who did not.

The Impact of Childhood Adversity
Early childhood adversity can lead to a number of short and long-term negative health effects.
It has been shown to disrupt early brain development as well as compromise the functioning of the nervous and immune systems.
Adults who experienced childhood adversity are also more likely to have health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases.
They are also more likely to suffer with depression, alcohoism and drug abuse problems.

Arrange your FREE initial consultation here.
If you’d like to find out more about childhood adversity or recovering from any of your mental health problems then why not arrange a free initial consultation with us.
During this consultation we will discuss your particular issues and the different types of mental health counselling we offer (including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – CBT) without you having to commit to any counselling going forward.
The consultation lasts around 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to meet with either Paul or Joan and decide if you would like to proceed with any support.
Core Concepts used in Applied Psychology
- Adversity
- Agency
- Attribution Theory
- Avoidance
- Biomedical Models of Mental Illness
- Childhood Adversity
- Cognitive Reconstruction
- Confirmation Bias
- Coping Strategies
- Core Beliefs
- Experiential Beliefs
- Socially Acquired Beliefs
- Cultural Contexts
- Internal Working Model
- Locus of Control
- Resilience
- Safety Behaviours
- Self Esteem
- Therapy Relationship