The Center on Child Wellbeing and Trauma partnered with the HOPE project (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) to develop this section on positive and protective experiences.
Power of Positive Change
A pivotal 1998 study demonstrated the link between specific types of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and poor adult health outcomes. Since then, our understanding of the effects of experience on child development has greatly advanced.
Subsequent research has indicated that key positive childhood experience (PCEs) also have profound effects on development and health outcomes. Recent findings have additionally shown that changes in the brain also occur in response to positive stimuli and events and that the brain has tremendous capacity to recover and heal.
What exactly is good health?
When we use the terms “health” or “healthy outcomes,” we’re referring to a holistic concept of what it means to be in good health. A great point of reference is the World Health Organization’s definition: A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
