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Almost half of D.C. children have suffered a traumatic experience, according to federal survey [washingtonpost.com]

 

In the District, 47 percent of children and teens have experienced a traumatic event, such as the death or incarceration of a parent, witnessing or being a victim of violence, or living with someone who has been suicidal or who has a drug or alcohol problem, according to new federal data. In Maryland and in Virginia, the rate was 41 percent.

The findings come from state-by-state survey data released Thursday from the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health, which aims to take a first-ever real-time look of the rate of children affected by adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs. Such experiences can have serious long-term impacts on a child’s health and well-being, studies show, including increased risk for smoking, alcoholism, depression and heart disease.

Public health advocates hope this data, which is expected to be collected annually, will undergird a wide range of policy changes to prevent such adversity and to help children heal.

[For more on this story by Michael Alison Chandler, go to https://www.washingtonpost.com...m_term=.3f462c110393]

For more stories on this report, see these articles Kentucky’s Children Have Higher Percentage of Adverse Childhood ExperiencesMore than 40 percent of Maryland children experience traumatic eventsMassachusetts scores well on childhood trauma, but nearly 40 percent of children are still affectedReport: West Virginia Childhood Adversity Tops US Average.

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