Abstract
Global evidence has demonstrated that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) from the childhood significantly increase the risk of mental and physical health for an adult. The research linking ACE with health and wellbeing over past 2 decades has confirmed a dose-response relationship between the number of ACE experienced and the extent of impact on wellbeing. The source of ACE is the family, community, and the immediate environment and it causes long term risk for mental health with the potential to carry it over beyond the present generation. The findings are consistent across the developed and developing countries, and the evidence highlights the need for new elements beyond the 10 ACE elements in the pathbreaking original study.
India, with a population of more than 0.4 billion children and adolescents, and with one out seven Indians being affected by mental health issues, need urgent intervention in identifying, managing, and preventing the ACEs. This commentary reviews global research, summarizes the limited evidence available in India on ACE elements’ impact on mental health, and proposes a multi-pronged approach to identify, manage and prevent the mental health implications of ACE in India to preempt a major public health challenge.
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