Cumulative Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and School Outcomes During Adolescence: A Scoping Review.

This is a scoping review aimed at broadly assessing the state of the literature and identifying knowledge gaps, not a study that tests whether interventions improve outcomes. Most included studies were cross-sectional and secondary data analyses, so the evidence is mostly associations rather than tested effects. Adverse childhood experience measurement varied widely; a score with only maltreatment and household dysfunction is not directly comparable to one adding poverty, discrimination and neighborhood violence. The review included only US studies published in English in peer-reviewed journals after 1995 and excluded gray literature and non-English publications, so it may not apply to other settings. Some studies relied on parent or youth reports of sensitive experiences, so social desirability and reporting bias are possible.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Funding came from a University of Michigan School of Nursing gift and grants from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Nursing Research.

Do not read this as evidence that any intervention improves adolescent school outcomes. The review reports associations, many from cross-sectional studies, and it did not test treatment effects.