New research published in The Lancet Public Health by public health researchers at Public Health Wales and Bangor University shows the estimated costs of adverse childhood experiences to the affected adults and to society across 28 European countries.

Adverse childhood experiences or ACEs include suffering maltreatment, witnessing violence in the home or community, and living with family difficulties such as parental substance abuse.  Exposure to such stressors is linked to poorer health and wellbeing across the life course, influencing children’s neurological, biological, and social development. It increases their susceptibility to social difficulties such as low educational attainment, health-harming behaviours such as smoking, and mental and physical illness. Although many people who suffer ACEs go on to live healthy, happy and productive lives, those that have experienced more ACEs are more likely to suffer ill health, achieve lower educational attainment and experience social deprivation.