ECHO Discovery Summary

Breaking the Cycle of Childhood Adversity

Dr. Cristiane Duarte, PhD, MPH of Columbia University’s Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry gave a presentation on breaking the cycle of childhood adversity among ethnically diverse children.

The Boricua Youth study explains patterns of psychiatric changes in Puerto Rican children from the South Bronx in New York City, and San Juan in Puerto Rico. This study recruited a cohort of approximately 2,500 children ages 5-15 with parents of Puerto Rican background in two sites: the South Bronx, NY, and San Juan, PR. Study investigators have been following these participants since the year 2000. Dr. Duarte covers how researchers primarily explored Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES), which can be defined as abuse, neglect, and/or household dysfunction. By focusing on ACES of this cohort, study findings were able to determine an association between adversities during childhood and early adolescence.

Children who experienced issues such as sleep health problems, pubertal developmental delays, and early alcohol use later experienced sexual risk behaviors, suicide attempts and ideation, and perceived stress in young adulthood. “There is work showing that exposures to adversities in childhood lead to changes in the brain and epigenetic changes, as well,” Dr. Duarte explains. Additionally, antisocial behavior is more common in children who experience cultural stress. Cultural stress can include children’s experiences of unfair treatment, difficulties adjusting to the values of the American culture, and language difficulties. A more supportive family life has been shown to lower levels of these behaviors. Later, as participants aged to adulthood, there were changes in psychiatric states such as increased rates of depression.

Now that the participants of the Boricua Youth study have aged to adulthood, researchers will continue to follow some of them until 2023 to understand how exposures may influence future generations. Some participants are now having their own children, and researchers are interested in investigating the intergenerational transmission of psychiatric issues. By continuing this study, Dr. Duarte and the study investigators will be able to determine the long-term effects of childhood adversity and exposures on health for generations to come. You can learn more about the Boricua Youth study and its research by watching the presentation.

Speakers:

Cristiane Duarte, PhD, MPH

Professor, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Columbia University

Speaker Bio:  Dr. Duarte is the Ruane Professor for the Implementation of Science for Child & Adolescent Mental Health at Columbia University – New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI). Her research seeks to generate population-based knowledge about development of psychopathology of relevance to diverse, often underserved and understudied, children. Her interest centers on the role of adversities, cultural risk and protective processes  – which many times includes intergenerational influences – of relevance for the development of psychiatric disorders. Dr. Duarte’s research program informs new prevention strategies targeted to break the cycle of disadvantage among vulnerable children in the USA and globally. Her work has been supported by the US National Institute of Health, private donors and foundations.

Date: Wednesday, March 10 , 1 to 2pm