Did you know that something a child experiences today could affect him or her for years to come? Did you see the latest research on adults who faced a childhood trauma? (You can see complete chart at this site. http://www.ministrybestpractices.com/2012/11/adult-disorders-linked-to-childhood.html).
The chart I’m referencing is the study I mention several weeks ago called the ACE Study, Adverse Childhood Experiences (http://acestudy.org/). This chart is great for ministers to have in their offices. It is one of the first charts I’ve seen that ministers can take and use in their churches as they minister to congregants. It explains what happens to adults when they have experienced an adverse childhood experience.
This chart doesn’t mention that divorce is an adverse childhood experience but the ACEs study does mention it. You can find more about the ACE Study at the link above and http://www.cdc.gov/ace/index.htm.
One of the things I like about this chart and these kinds of studies are they verify what I have felt and known for a long time. Many of us that have worked with children know that when they experience a trauma such as divorce that it affects them in many ways. For instance one of the results of trauma or crisis causes children to endangered or worthless.