CNN International (5/18, Wolf) publishes a telephonic question-and-answer session with California surgeon general Dr. Nadine Burke Harris about the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on children. Harris mentions the 10 criteria for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that were identified in a CDC Kaiser study. According to Harris, “What we’re seeing in the Covid pandemic is that intimate partner violence is increasing, substance use is increasing, mental health disorders are increasing. And because of that on the one hand, we are seeing an increase in the traditional ACEs and that’s of really significant concern.” Harris adds, “What we understand about the way in which activation of the stress response system leads to long-term health risks, there’s one piece of that that’s really, really important – which is that if kids get adequate buffering caregiving, that can biologically buffer that stress response and prevent those harms.”
Related Links:
— “For some kids, the effects of this pandemic will last forever, “Zachary B. Wolf, CNN, May 18, 2020