Adverse Childhood Experiences among Young Children of Immigrants: Challenges and Opportunities for Early Childhood Education Centers and Communities of Faith
摘要
Faced with multiple simultaneous adversities that extend beyond traditional adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including systemic oppression and family separation due to detention or deportation, children of immigrants, a growing segment of the US population, face a public health crisis necessitating immediate attention. Experiencing these potentially traumatic events during the critical period of young childhood, especially in the absence of protective resources, can yield substantive short- and long-term developmental problems. Accordingly, there is an urgent need for evidence-based strategies for responding to ACEs and immigration-related adversities in young children of immigrants. This systematic review synthesizes literature indexed in PsycINFO from 2000 to 2025 on programs aimed at addressing ACEs in young children of immigrants in their natural settings (n = 15). Eligible studies were screened following PICOTS inclusion criteria requiring programs to address ACEs or trauma exposure among young children of immigrants and be deliverable in early childhood education or faith-based settings. The review is framed by three interrelated core protective systems identified by ACE researchers as important for the prevention, detection, and intervention of ACEs in children: (1) building children’s individual strengths; (2) developing attachment to nurturing caregivers; and (3) building a protective community (Sciaraffa et al.,