Generational Trauma: Breaking the Cycle of Adverse Childhood Experiences

Content originally published on Dec. 10, 2020 and last updated Aug. 19, 2025

The environments you grow up in and the and experiences you have as a child can affect your mental and physical health throughout your life. If you were raised in poverty, or if you witnessed or experienced abuse or neglect, these experiences can impact you today.

“While we can’t change the past, recognizing that these experiences can still affect you today can help you better understand challenges you face now,” said Dr. Amanda Broderick, PhD, child and adolescent clinical psychologist. “It can also help your healthcare providers know how to support you. If you become a parent, this awareness can help you break the cycle for your children.”

Providing healing and care for children and adults means addressing generational challenges. There aren't easy solutions. It involves understanding the problem, treating the root issues and preventing them in the future.

What is an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE)?

An adverse childhood experience (ACE) describes the abuse, trauma or neglect that creates toxic stress in a child’s brain. These experiences have been linked with physical illness and mental health conditions later in life. A child who is abused, traumatized or raised without proper care, connection and affection has higher risks for:

• Substance use
• Depression
• Suicide
• Lack of physical activity
• Heart disease
• Cancer
• Stroke
• Diabetes

Although the risk for ACEs is higher among certain groups, ACEs are found among all walks of life. Often, the parents of a child who experiences ACEs faced similar abuse or neglect when they were children. This creates a vicious cycle that can last generations.

“Adverse childhood experiences often come from various sources of violence,” said Dr. Mary Ciccarelli MD, an internist-pediatrician at Riley Children’s Health. “This could be witnessing or experiencing violence, neglect or abuse in your home or community, being close to someone who dies by suicide or being sexually assaulted in childhood.”

While most trauma can cause an ACE, not all adverse experiences are caused by life-threatening experiences. Divorce or incarceration of a parent, for instance, may cause adversity for a child. Adversity is not always a clear cause for negative outcomes later.

ACEs by the numbers

About 64% of adults in the United States experienced at least one ACE before they turned 18. For kids at high risk for maltreatment—such as those in foster care—91% have at least one ACE by age six. And they are likely to have a few more by age 16.

“They begin a cycle that accumulates more and more trauma,” said Peggy Box, behavioral health care specialist with the Foster Care Bridge Clinic at Riley Hospital for Children.

When compared to their peers, children with three or more ACEs are:

• Three times more likely to have academic failure
• Six times as likely to have behavioral issues
• Five times more likely to have attendance problems

While these outcomes are concerning, they are not inevitable. ACEs do not necessarily predict your future, and there are ways to help prevent negative outcomes for your child.

Identifying your own ACEs as an adult

Dr. Broderick suggests adults who had ACEs work to identify where they are in the cycle and find a way to interrupt it. You can do this by talking to your family doctor about addressing your emotional, physical and mental needs so you can be there for your child.

You may find that parenting your child reminds you of adverse experiences from your own childhood.

“We tend to bring how we were raised into parenting our own children. Experiencing ACEs impacts how you parent and how you experience being a parent. Building awareness about that impact can help you do things differently,” Dr. Broderick said. “When you’re having a hard time as a parent or feeling stressed, does it evoke something about how you were parented? Before you repeat old habits, ask yourself: Do I need to take a moment for myself? Do I have the support I need? Do I have someone who can help me do things differently than how I saw a parent act?”

For example, some people respond to a child’s misbehavior or big emotions by screaming or raising their emotions. Parents who experienced that as a child might practice identifying their children’s big emotions as age-appropriate reactions and find ways to be supportive instead of reactive.

Preventing ACEs for your child

Some ACEs are unavoidable, such as a death in the family. However, the way a family responds to a child experiencing trauma has a lot to do with how the child processes what happened.

Make sure your child has support—and therapy if needed—and be involved in this care. Parents can also help their children avoid negative experiences by creating the safest environment possible for raising their kids. This includes:

• Limiting chaos or upheaval in a child’s life
• Introducing boundaries
• Keeping a regular schedule
• Helping parents avoid the criminal justice system
• Encouraging parents to pursue their GED, college degree or technical training

Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs)

ACEs only tell a part of your story and don’t capture the full spectrum of your experiences. In fact, ACE scores do not account for positive childhood experiences, or PCEs. PCEs can help a child become more resilient and offset the effects of trauma. PCEs describe when a child:

• Feels safe and protected by adults in their home
• Experiences support from their family
• Gets involved in sports, clubs or other activities
• Feels like their concerns and feelings are heard by their family
• Feels like they belong in their home, school and among friends
• Has two or more non-parent adults who support and take a genuine interest in them
• Has someone who takes them to the doctor when needed

“Positive childhood experiences matter. It can stop some of these unhealthy cycles when you have an adult who cares about you, whether it’s a parent, coach, teacher, or family member,” Dr. Broderick said. “ACEs don’t happen in isolation, and we’re starting to see how PCEs can help to disrupt them.”