Adverse childhood experiences in African Americans: Framework, practice, and policy.

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) disproportionately impact African Americans because of profound subjection to historical-systemic oppression in addition to personal and intergenerational trauma exposure. This article utilizes a biopsychosocial-cultural framework to understand the correlates of ACE exposure in African Americans and attends to the cultural factors that contribute to resilience. We review the evidence base for culturally informed, preventive-interventions, as well as strategies for bolstering this work by capitalizing on cultural strengths that are salient in the African American community. We also highlight pertinent policy initiatives guided by recent strategic outlines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These policies provide the backdrop for the recommendations offered to facilitate the healthy biopsychosocial development of individuals and families. These recommendations can contribute to the expansion and creation of new policies that aim to strengthen individual coping in the face of adversity, enhance family bonds and resilience, and promote community capacity to reduce ACE exposure in African Americans.

Science, practice, and policy related to adverse childhood experiences: Framing the conversation.

“…It is essential to infuse cultural responsiveness throughout efforts both to identify needs related to ACEs and to formulate responses to those needs. Noting the impact of historical trauma on African Americans, Hampton-Anderson et al (2021) explore the unique needs of this population through a biopsychosocial-cultural framework, and make recommendations for effective responses relative to ACEs. Woods-Jaeger et al (2021) expand this discussion to examine culture as a source of protective factors for African American youth and offer strategies for responding to ACEs that account for the context of racism.…”

Resilience: Within-Group Variations in the Impact of Racial Discrimination on Black Youth's Mental Health

“…While prior investigations indicate that 90% of young people from all backgrounds experience an adverse childhood event by the time they turn 14 (Flaherty et al, 2013), childhood adversity is not the same across racial/ethnic groups (Hampton-Anderson et al, 2021). Specifically, in addition to the ACEs all children experience, Black youth must navigate the hostile climate and toxic interactions that result from pervasive anti-Black racism.…”

Capability-informed competency approach to lifelong professional development.

“…To be prepared to do so, they must be trained to use their diverse competencies in novel ways (i.e., capabilities), so they can partner with their interprofessional colleagues in conceptualizing, preventing, and intervening to address syndemic drivers of health inequities. They must be ready to: (a) provide insights from basic social and behavioral sciences research; (b) offer a biopsychosocial–cultural perspective on physical and behavioral health problems; (c) design, test, and share preventive strength-based and resilience-oriented approaches that ameliorate sociopolitical–economic barriers to access and address co-occurring biopsychosocial–cultural challenges; (d) design, evaluate, and disseminate culturally responsive interventions that target patterns affecting the physical and behavioral health of high-risk populations; (e) serve as citizens of the healthcare workforce and foster healthcare workers’ well-being; (f) form and lead coalitions to facilitate systematic changes for marginalized communities; and (g) embrace antiracist frameworks to guide their efforts to advance health equity and improve the well-being of communities disproportionately affected by health inequity and violence (Domínguez et al, 2020; Hampton-Anderson et al, 2021; Van Bavel et al, 2020).…”