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The Childhood Experiences Study for Adults

Have you ever experienced negative or adverse events within the first 18 years of your life? Do you remember how old you were during these events?

Researchers at Teachers College, Columbia University are seeking adults from diverse backgrounds, to participate in a study aimed at understanding both whether and when people experienced difficult or adverse events in the first 18 years of their life, as well as their mental health in adulthood.

  • If interested, please click the link below that will direct you to a survey where you can begin the study. You will have an opportunity to learn more about the survey before formally agreeing to complete it.
  • Participation involves completing one 30-minute online survey where you will complete a series of questions.
  • Those who complete the survey will be entered into a raffle to receive a $50 Amazon gift card via email. Link to enter the raffle will be provided at the end of the survey.
  • You will not be asked to elaborate in detail about any difficult or negative past events you may have experienced. Instead, these questions will mainly be multiple-choice questions and take up a small portion of the survey that will be completed anonymously.
  • Researchers at Teachers College, Columbia University will work to combine survey responses to better understand links between timing of adverse childhood events and mental health outcomes.

 

       Interested in learning more? Please click HERE:

        The survey has been closed. Thank you for your participation!

(*Permitted to post by forum administrator)

 This is approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Teachers College, Columbia University (TC Protocol #17-027; Expiration Date 1/31/17)

Last edited by Sowmya Kshtriya
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It is important that we ask these questions...and then truly LISTEN to the responses. What won't be learned with this study is what factors helped an individual live with and then overcome negative thinking with dysfunctional behaviors to achieve (or not achieve) the level of success they have today. As a 'retired' pediatrician working child abuse and advocacy for 30 years, and now in my 'third career' (called "retirement") I believe the key is the presence of a 'team' of caring individuals, who all too often don't know each other, who take an interest in the child and put in energy, not because they have to, but because they can, and want to, to help that child achieve stability and personal happiness. It's called "Serendipity," part of the fabric of "The Universal Spirit." What we need to do, together, is stop letting it happen by 'chance,' and make it happen due to proactive vigilance as a society, certainly a hopeful outcome in conducting this survey. "History repeats itself, opportunity doesn't." On behave of myself, a child and adult survivor, and others, thanks for asking.

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  • George_Stop Hunger Now_Soy Clown_2013-10-19: Dr. George, giving time and hope to help others achieve peace at a Stop Hunger Now event.

When I previously compared my ACE score and Resilience scores, using both the CDC/ Kaiser ACE screening tool, and the World Health Organization's ACE International Questionaire, my ACE score varied from 4 to 6, but I had a Resilience score of 10. I didn't get a sense from what I saw of the study's focus, that "Resilience" was a concern. Am I mistaken about that?

The original ACE Study examined only harmful health (mental and physical) consequences, but not how resilience factors ameliorated health consequences. However, I wouldn't label the ACE Study has having failings. It was a start, and subsequent surveys are including other ACEs, including bullying, racism, witnessing violence outside the home, living in an unsafe neighborhood and involvement with the foster care system).

Also, because of the great progress that's been made in understanding ACEs, their consequences and how people, families, organizations, systems and communities can heal, people use the term "ACEs science" to include much more than the original CDC-Kaiser Permanent ACE Study.

ACEs science includes the epidemiology of ACEs (the original ACE Study and subsequent ACE surveys), the neurobiology of toxic stress, the short- and long-term health (mental and physical) consequences of toxic stress, generational trauma (i.e., the epigenetic consequences of toxic stress), AND resilience research.

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