Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) on Children’s Development

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 36

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Nursing and Cumming School of Medicine (Pediatrics, Psychiatry & Community Health Sciences), University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Interests: parent–infant/child relationships; perinatal mental health; infant mental health; vulnerable children; parent–child interventions; social support; domestic abuse; toxic stress; adverse childhood experiences; child development and health; biological sensitivity; genetics; epigenetics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This issue, titled “Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) on Children's Development”, invites novel research focused on examining the association between ACEs and various domains related to children’s development, including behavioral, social–emotional, physical, genetic, neurological, and psychosocial, whether experienced directly or indirectly (e.g., intergenerationally). Studies focused on positive childhood experiences will also be accepted, helping to pinpoint protective factors linked to children’s development. Inviting research using diverse methodologies and study design approaches, this issue will help to explain the negative and positive effects of ACEs and PCEs, respectively, on children’s neurodevelopment, helping to promote global child health. Dr. Nicole Letourneau and Mr. Stefan Kurbatfinski encourage the application of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility to further identify population health factors associated with children’s neurodevelopment in the context of ACEs. 

Prof. Dr. Nicole L. Letourneau
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

  • adverse childhood experiences
  • positive childhood experiences
  • child development
  • equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility
  • child health
  • global health

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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