Assessing Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Latinx Children in Greater New Orleans
Location
Center for Advanced Learning and Simulation (CALS)
Publication Date
April 2025
Start Date
17-4-2025 8:00 AM
Description
Introduction: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are chronic or severely stressful experiences occurring before 18 years of age. The presence of ACEs has a direct, inverse relationship with school performance, increasing economic and educational disparities among marginalized groups with higher trauma burden. Given the scarcity of studies examining Latinx families with special needs children, this study assessed the prevalence of ACEs in these families in the community. Methods: Spanish-speaking parents (N = 10) attended one of three community events providing special education resources. Parents completed measures related to special education, a focus group, and a child trauma event screener (N = 20). The screener consisted of 7 yes/no questions combining the standard ACE evaluation with additional stressors more specific to the study demographic (racism, discrimination). Results: Parents attended seminars in July and August of 2024. No parents attended in February of 2025. Nine children had a medical/psychiatric condition, most commonly neurodevelopmental disorders (n = 7). Children with these conditions experienced more trauma (M = 1.67) than those without one (M = 1), t(18) = -9.08, p = 0.006. The most common ACEs were “discrimination” (n = 6), “loss of a parent” (n =6), and “school trauma” (n = 5). Conclusions: The results suggest a correlation between ACEs and the presence of a medical/psychiatric disability in this sample of Latinx children, with the most common ACEs being “discrimination” and “loss of a parent”. The relationship between traumatic events and disabilities is bidirectional. Future research will continue collecting data on ACE prevalence as well as investigate ACE prevention and mitigation.
Recommended Citation
Clay, Sloane; Maraver, Valeria Faria; Lugo, Maria; Del Corral Winder, Sebastian PsyD; and Maher, Megan MD, "Assessing Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Latinx Children in Greater New Orleans" (2025). Dept. of Psychiatry Research Symposium. 6.
https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/psych_rd/2025/presentations/6
Assessing Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Latinx Children in Greater New Orleans
Center for Advanced Learning and Simulation (CALS)
Introduction: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are chronic or severely stressful experiences occurring before 18 years of age. The presence of ACEs has a direct, inverse relationship with school performance, increasing economic and educational disparities among marginalized groups with higher trauma burden. Given the scarcity of studies examining Latinx families with special needs children, this study assessed the prevalence of ACEs in these families in the community. Methods: Spanish-speaking parents (N = 10) attended one of three community events providing special education resources. Parents completed measures related to special education, a focus group, and a child trauma event screener (N = 20). The screener consisted of 7 yes/no questions combining the standard ACE evaluation with additional stressors more specific to the study demographic (racism, discrimination). Results: Parents attended seminars in July and August of 2024. No parents attended in February of 2025. Nine children had a medical/psychiatric condition, most commonly neurodevelopmental disorders (n = 7). Children with these conditions experienced more trauma (M = 1.67) than those without one (M = 1), t(18) = -9.08, p = 0.006. The most common ACEs were “discrimination” (n = 6), “loss of a parent” (n =6), and “school trauma” (n = 5). Conclusions: The results suggest a correlation between ACEs and the presence of a medical/psychiatric disability in this sample of Latinx children, with the most common ACEs being “discrimination” and “loss of a parent”. The relationship between traumatic events and disabilities is bidirectional. Future research will continue collecting data on ACE prevalence as well as investigate ACE prevention and mitigation.
Comments
2nd Place Presentation