This brief by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)-Supported Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) discusses substance use and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
In the first of this two-part series, this brief examines the unique relationship between ACEs and substance use throughout the life cycle. Each installment of the series discusses the impact of substance-related ACEs on one life stage and the ways that public entities, funders, and grantees can support those who are adversely affected. The first part details substance use as an ACE from infancy through childhood, emphasizing specific developmental stages. Adverse childhood experiences, referred to as ACEs, are defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as “potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0–17 years).” One common example of an ACE witnessed by Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) grantees is growing up in a household with substance use; other examples include parental separation or experiencing abuse or neglect. An estimated one-half to two-thirds of U.S. adults have experienced at least one ACE, and 15 percent to 25 percent report experiencing three or more. This is critical, because a greater number of ACEs directly correlates with a greater frequency and severity of negative health and well-being outcomes. Studies show that people with six or more ACEs die nearly 20 years earlier than their peers without ACEs. ACEs in Utero Unborn infants are particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of parental substance use. Although there is some variation in impacts, maternal use of substances such as tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, opiates, and methamphetamine while pregnant can all have a multitude of detrimental effects.