Childhood Adversity & Resilience
Childhood Adversity & Resilience
Children involved with child welfare, such as those with alleged maltreatment or in foster or kinship care, have a high prevalence of adverse childhood experiences. Exposure to childhood adversities, such as abuse and neglect, parental mental illness, parental substance abuse, and domestic violence exposure, especially in the absence of protective factors, can lead to toxic stress that in turn negatively impacts short and long-term physical, emotional and developmental health. Pediatricians in the Division of General Pediatrics are involved in research and interventions to ameliorate these negative outcomes.