A Community-Engaged Exploration of Childhood Adversity and Resilience to Inform Mental Health Intervention

This study investigated a link between adverse community environments and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) using the pair of ACEs (POA) framework to better understand community members’ perspectives on how they were impacted across the lifespan by their childhood experiences. In addition, we identified mitigating factors that played a role for participants in building individual and community resilience. Researchers utilized a community-based participatory research approach in conjunction with qualitative methodology to explore the experiences of 15 community members. Nine themes emerged identifying both adversity and protective factors across the family, community, institutional, and structural levels. Findings have implications for the counseling profession in terms of practice, education, advocacy, and future research.