Early Childhood Adversity and Adolescent Health
A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Mental Health".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 June 2025 | Viewed by 143
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Early childhood adversity (ECA), including abuse, neglect, and family dysfunction, significantly impacts emotional, cognitive, and social development, increasing the risk of chronic health conditions. ECA disrupts critical developmental processes and has long-term effects on both physical and mental health, influencing the HPA axis and immune system. Prolonged stress can impair emotional regulation and social interactions, leading to mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
This Special Issue aims to explore how ECA affects children’s development, with a focus on psychological mediation and moderation mechanisms. It examines both immediate and long-term effects, including emotional regulation, cognitive appraisal, and attachment patterns, and highlights evidence-based interventions and policies to mitigate the impact of ECA.
Advancements in neuropsychological assessments and longitudinal research have provided insights into how chronic stress affects cognitive processing, attachment behaviors, and coping mechanisms, which play critical roles in the long-term effects of adversity. Furthermore, studies on psychological moderation mechanisms have highlighted the protective roles of resilience, emotional regulation, and social support in mitigating the adverse consequences of ECA.
We invite original research articles, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and perspective pieces that explore the following topics:
- Mechanistic pathways linking ECA to health outcomes.
- Innovative interventions for preventing or ameliorating the impacts of ECA.
- Longitudinal studies examining health trajectories over the course of life.
- Clinical recommendations for preventing early adversity and promoting children’s well-being.
Dr. Mariacarolina Vacca
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children 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.
Keywords
- ECA
- emotional regulation
- stress
- psychopathology
- mechanism
- mediation
- moderation
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