Screening children and adolescents for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)

by | Mar 10, 2023 | agriculture

 

 

In recent years, increased attention has been given to screening children and adolescents for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). ACEs include growing up in homes involving violence, abuse, neglect, mental health or substance abuse issues, parental separation, or incarceration. Researchers have found that ACEs negatively impact mental and physical health in adulthood and can limit life opportunities (CDC, 2020). Through screening, social workers can identify these experiences in a child’s life and then consider methods to prevent or mitigate the negative effects. Some screening tools have even been expanded to include related life events that contribute to toxic stress, in order to get a broader picture of a child’s experiences.

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Sample Solution

Screening for ACEs is beneficial to the child and their family in a number of ways. First, it allows social workers to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the child’s life experiences and current state of mental health. This can inform how services are tailored to meet the needs of the child and family, such as providing support through individual or family therapy, home visits, or referrals to community resources (Camel & Brothers-Davis, 2020). Second, screening for ACEs helps identify behaviors that may be related to trauma so that interventions can target these behaviors before they become more severe.

Sample Solution

Screening for ACEs is beneficial to the child and their family in a number of ways. First, it allows social workers to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the child’s life experiences and current state of mental health. This can inform how services are tailored to meet the needs of the child and family, such as providing support through individual or family therapy, home visits, or referrals to community resources (Camel & Brothers-Davis, 2020). Second, screening for ACEs helps identify behaviors that may be related to trauma so that interventions can target these behaviors before they become more severe.

For example, if a child screens positive for exposure to violence at home they may be referred for play therapy where they can process their experiences in an emotionally safe environment (Roush et al., 2019). Finally, ACE screenings allow social workers to provide education on trauma-informed care – emphasizing safety in interactions with children affected by trauma – which is important both within service providers and also in school systems where staff need information on how best serve students who have experienced trauma (Kirmayer et al., 2018).

Overall, screening for adverse childhood experiences is an important intervention tool used by social workers. It provides insight into a child’s life which informs tailored service provision as well as decreases potential negative outcomes associated with those experiences. Education about trauma-informed care further increases understanding of how best work with children impacted by adversity. Therefore screeners should continue considering implementation strategies around ACE screenings in order increase access among vulnerable families as this will improve quality of life outcomes from early childhood through adulthood .

References
CDC (2020). Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Overview: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/acestudy/overview_ace_study.html
Camel K & Brothers-Davis M (2020). Trauma Informed Care: What Social Workers Need To Know About Screening Clients For Exposure To Trauma And Supporting Recovery Processes: The New Social Worker Online Magazine [online], 25(1), pp 6–8..Retrieved from http://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/clinical-practice/trauma-informed-care/.
Kirmayer LJ et al.(2018). Narratives Of Resilience: Reflections On Healing Trajectories Among Indigenous Peoples And Communities Affected By Historical Trauma: Transcultural Psychiatry 55(5): 573–590 doi 10 1177 020802261 7079141725704813

Roush S et al.(2019). Evidence‐Based Interventions For Children Exposed To Domestic Violence : A Systematic Review Of Meta‐Analyses Published From 1994 Through 2018: Research On Social Work Practice 29(2): 181–197 doi 10 1177 1049731519827735

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