ACEs are traumatic experiences that can have a profound effect on a child’s developing brain and body with lasting impacts on a person’s mental health and chronic disease risk throughout the lifespan. The negative effects of ACEs on an individual’s well-being begin in childhood/adolescence and continue throughout the course of life resulting in increased risk for behavioral problems, poor school performance, depressive and anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and increased chronic disease such as obesity and cardiovascular disease.
There are ten recognized ACEs, which fall into three types—abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction.
| Abuse | Neglect | Household dysfunction |
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The RMPRC works closely with community, state, and regional public health partners to promote family and child health and well-being by conducting applied prevention research and providing training and technical assistance. As a Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) designated Prevention Research Center, the RMPRC is helping to support the continuing work of the CDC on ACEs and prevention through our core research project, STANCE (Linking Systems To address ACEs iN Childhood Early on). STANCE is designed to reduce the intergenerational transmission of ACEs by conducting a multi-level, community-based
intervention to strengthen social-emotional competence in young children and connect their families to appropriate care in the San Luis Valley, located in the southcentral corner of CO.
The RMPRC has been working with the San Luis Valley (SLV) Community Advisory Board (CAB) for over two decades. The SLV CAB identified ACEs as a concern of the community and a desired need for future intervention to reduce the intergenerational transmission
of ACEs. The RMPRC in partnership with the SLV CAB developed an ACEs Awareness Program video to increase awareness of ACEs
in the SLV. The video showcases pictures from the SLV and is narrated by a local SLV resident.
