Motivation and emotion/Book/2024/Adverse childhood experiences and risk-taking motivation
How do ACEs affect risk-taking motivation?
Overview
[edit | edit source]
An American study involving 515 children aged between 9 and 11 years who were placed in foster care due to maltreatment were interviewed regarding their risk-taking behaviours, such as substance use, engagement in violence and deliquent behaviour. It was found throughout this study that there was a direct association between the number of ACEs experienced and engagement in health-risk behaviours. For each additional ACE, there was an increased 24% of engagement in violence and 50% increase in the likelihood of substance abuse. |
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are often defined as neglect, abuse and household adversities experienced throughout childhood. Adverse childhood experiences have been shown throughout research to lead to less than ideal circumstances throughout the lifespan. Risk-taking behaviours, such as excessive drug and alcohol intake and engagement in criminal activities, can also lead to aversive affects on the body such as organ failure and the increase in the prevalence of mental disorders. Adverse childhood experiences similarly have shown to affect mental health. Poorer mental health has been linked to risk-taking behaviours in adolescence... (source?). The combination of predispositions to poor mental health outcomes and increasing the affects on the body, a person who experienced traumas in childhood who partakes in risk-taking behaviours may be more susceptible to further aversive experiences....
Focus questions:
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What are adverse childhood experiences?
[edit | edit source]What constitutes an adverse childhood experience?
[edit | edit source]- define ACE
- give examples of ACE's
Consequences of adverse childhood experiences
[edit | edit source]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Lasting_affects_of_Adverse_Childhood_Experiences.png/350px-Lasting_affects_of_Adverse_Childhood_Experiences.png)
- Mental Health
- Physical Health
- (difficulty navigating interpersonal relationships could be a good direction to go - touching on attachment theory and linking that to risk taking behaviour).
- See Figure 1.
What is risk-taking behaviour?
[edit | edit source]Types of risk-taking behaviours
[edit | edit source]- Health related risk-taking behaviours
- Behaviour focused risk-taking behaviours
Consequences of risk-taking behaviours
[edit | edit source]- Poorer health outcomes
- Mental health
- Physical health
- Youth detention centres
How do adverse childhood experiences motivate risk-taking behaviours?
[edit | edit source]- susceptibility to peer pressure due to lack of social development and poorer mental health
- coping mechanisms for poor mental health and lack of education on positive coping mechanisms
What are some strategies to reduce risk-taking behaviours in people affected by adverse childhood experiences?
[edit | edit source]- accessibility to medical, counselling and other services such as support groups
- early intervention - more awareness in schools and communities about the signs of abuse, neglect and household adversities
Conclusion
[edit | edit source]Adverse childhood experiences, stressful events or circumstances which occur during childhood, can have serious impacts on children as they age. ACEs typically refer to abuse, neglect and household adversities. Some of the consequences of ACE's are chronic health issues, mental health issues and social developmental issues. Risk-taking behaviours are engaged in for various reasons throughout the lifespan and vary from health related risk-taking, such as drug and alcohol abuse, to physical behaviours like violence. From peer pressure to coping mechanisms, a wide variety of motivations for individuals to engage in various types of risk-taking behaviour exist. Children who experience issues in social situations resulting from ACEs are more vulnerable to peer pressure in hopes of gaining positive opinions from their peers, even if these behaviours are detrimental to their physical or mental health. Adverse childhood experiences lead to more susceptibility to mental health conditions which can in turn increase the susceptibility to things such as peer pressure to partake in risk-taking behaviours. Early intervention in situations of child neglect and abuse can allow for the reduction of detrimental affects from ACEs. If early interventions are unable to occur, increasing the accessibility of medical, counselling and other services such as support groups for sufferers will allow for better mental and physical health outcomes for people affected by ACEs.
See also
[edit | edit source]- Adverse Childhood Experiences and Emotional Regulation (Book Chapter 2024)
- Childhood Trauma and Subsequent Drug Use (Book Chapter 2022)
References
[edit | edit source]Babad, S., Zwilling, A., Carson, K. W., Fairchild, V., Razak, S., Robinson, G., & Nikulina, V. (2021). Risk-Taking Propensity and Sensation Seeking in Survivors of Adverse Childhood Experiences. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(19-20), NP10670-NP10687. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519876035
Crandall, A., Castaneda, G. L., Barlow, M. J., & Magnusson, B. M. (2024). Do positive childhood and adult experiences counter the effects of adverse childhood experiences on learned helplessness? [Original Research]. Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/frcha.2023.1249529
Feltus, S. R. (2022). Associations between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Alcohol Use among College Students: The Role of Drinking Motives (Publication Number 29211217) [M.S., State University of New York at Binghamton]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global: The Sciences and Engineering Collection. United States -- New York. https://ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/associations-between-adverse-childhood/docview/2692673264/se-2?accountid=28889
Garrido, E. F., Weiler, L. M., & Taussig, H. N. (2018). Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health-Risk Behaviors in Vulnerable Early Adolescents. J Early Adolesc, 38(5), 661-680. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431616687671
Gupta, N. T., & Vikas. (2023). High Risk Behaviors [Text]. https://doi.org/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560756/
Laurie S. Ramiro a, B. J. M. b. D. W. B. c. Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and health-risk behaviors among adults in a developing country setting. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0145213410002243?casa_token=gNPXzBZlItoAAAAA:gZ9zsZ_ynRVbwi_BQL6Mmt2UcrQ0TA2PjZw07W52W1KOh0OKDaCJelVQM4vN25PAjdyKzlSf
Ling Wang PhD, Y. C. M. D. Z. L. M. D. Y. Z. P. J. L. P. X. L. M. D. Z. Y. M. D. X. G. The Influences of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Social Support on Male Teenagers’ Gaming Motivation: A Moderated Network Analysis. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891524524000282?ssrnid=4431861&dgcid=SSRN_redirect_SD
Romer, D. (2010). Adolescent risk taking, impulsivity, and brain development: Implications for prevention. Developmental Psychobiology, 52(3), 263-276. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.20442
Tamara L. Doremus-Fitzwater, E. I. V. L. P. S. Motivational systems in adolescence: Possible implications for age differences in substance abuse and other risk-taking behaviors. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278262609001614?casa_token=ZH5gU1mLfeUAAAAA:_vFLw5C2d0vdHeyDdTGj8-Oxk6pQEECXzO4p9i2wYXDrHM-p6HFcsxiXXyzAEJ1kzcUoPahY
External links
[edit | edit source]- ACEs and their health impacts (Emerging Minds)
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Preventing early trauma to improve adult health (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)