The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Poverty on Child Behavioral Outcomes

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Behavioral Sciences invites submissions examining the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and poverty on child behavioral outcomes, with a particular emphasis on the structural determinants of health that shape risk, exposure, and resilience. We seek scholarship that moves beyond individual-level explanations to consider how systems, policies, and social structures, such as housing instability, neighborhood conditions, educational inequities, healthcare access, and economic policy, intersect with ACEs and poverty to influence developmental trajectories.

Submissions may include empirical studies, qualitative studies, mixed-methods research, systematic reviews, theoretical frameworks, implementation science, and policy analyses that address behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and developmental outcomes across childhood and adolescence. We especially encourage work that centers prevention, early intervention, community-based approaches, and translational science, as well as studies that amplify the voices and lived experiences of children, families, and communities most affected.

This issue aims to advance translational knowledge that informs community-informed, structurally responsive strategies to improve child outcomes and reduce long-term inequities.

Dr. Courtney S. Walker
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.