B3990 - Understanding developmental trajectories of risk and resilience amongst children who experienced adverse childhood experiences - 21/02/2022

B number: 
B3990
Principal applicant name: 
Lucy Bowes | University of Oxford
Co-applicants: 
Miss Athena Chow, Elise Sellars
Title of project: 
Understanding developmental trajectories of risk and resilience amongst children who experienced adverse childhood experiences
Proposal summary: 

Children who experience adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are at greater risk for psychiatric disorders, chronic health diseases, and poor educational and social outcomes. Experiencing ACEs such as abuse, neglect or bullying in childhood increases vulnerability to poor developmental outcomes, yet not all children who experience such adversity go on to develop adjustment difficulties. Sources of resilience exist on multiple levels: individual characteristics including biological predisposition and psychological coping styles; physical, economic and social capital offered to children and caregivers; psychosocial interventions by mental health, social welfare, and education providers; and government policies that prioritise or neglect maltreated children. This project will integrate methods from social epidemiology and developmental psychology to understand the trajectories of risk and resilience amongst children who experienced ACEs, by using longitudinal analysis and advanced statistical methods to examine risk and protective factors at the individual, family, school and community level. Findings will inform intervention strategies and policies aimed at promoting resilience amongst vulnerable children.

Impact of research: 
In terms of academic impact, this project will advance overall understanding of the trajectories of risk and resilience across children’s development. In terms of policy impact, findings from this project will contribute to the evidence base and inform early interventions and policies (e.g., protective factors to be implemented during the early years) on how to improve services available for at-risk children and provide vulnerable families with sufficient support. In terms of clinical impact, findings from this project have the potential to inform clinical interventions (e.g., specific neurobiological mechanisms to be targeted) for the treatment of ACEs and subsequent mental illness.
Date proposal received: 
Thursday, 3 February, 2022
Date proposal approved: 
Monday, 14 February, 2022
Keywords: 
Mental health - Psychology, Psychiatry, Cognition, Mental health, Statistical methods, Biological samples -e.g. blood, cell lines, saliva, etc., Cohort studies - attrition, bias, participant engagement, ethics, Childhood - childcare, childhood adversity, Cognition - cognitive function, Development, Methods - e.g. cross cohort analysis, data mining, mendelian randomisation, etc., Parenting, Siblings, Speech and language, Statistical methods