ACEs and ATTUNE
Humans have long-since known the importance of early life experiences in shaping the outcomes over the course of our adult life. Over recent years, work on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) has revealed their role in increasing the likelihood of poor mental and physical health in people exposed to early life traumas, as well as poor social and educational outcomes over the human lifespan.
The reach of the effects of ACEs is extensive. They have implications for neuro-psychological development, for example emotional dysregulation and biases in emotional recognition. They play a key role in the production of mental and physical health inequalities, as the risk of experiencing ACEs is increased in people for lower socio-economic groups, those from racial and ethnic minorities and those living in deprived neighbourhoods.
As a consequence, they are an important social determinant of health, and their reduction has clear implications for public health and prevention. ACEs are experienced by children and young people across the globe and are a special risk for those living in conflict zones, unsafe environments, areas experiencing food shortages or high levels of population displacement.
Given the clear relationship between deprivation and ACEs, along with the higher likelihood of those with neurodiversity (such as ASD and ADHD) experiencing multiple ACEs, there are notable challenges to help-seeking and engagement in therapeutic activities for many young people who have experienced trauma in their early lives. This calls for the need to develop more imaginative and creative ways of providing appropriate interventions.
Some promising ways of combatting these challenges have emerged, including creative arts-based approaches and interventions. Creative arts: music, dance, drama, visual arts, and the digital arts can all assist engagement and disclosure. But can also reduce depression and anxiety and can enhance an individual’s sense of achievement, self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as their social skills and problem-solving. Digital technology, often preferred by young people, may also help to reduce barriers to using services and enhance help seeking.
Careif has been a supporter of the ATTUNE project, a novel multisite study funded by the Medical Research Council, that uses a variety of arts-based methods to explore young people’s experiences of ACEs. This project began in 2021 and runs until August 2025. It has been co-produced with young people from a variety of communities and backgrounds.
Some of the fruits of this creative venture are beginning to emerge and these are detailed in a recent item in our news feed. Thank you to Simran Sanjoy for supplying the account of ATTUNEs work. We eagerly await further disclosures by the ATTUNE team regarding their important and imaginative set of projects.
