Association between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Developmental Delay of Preschool Children in a Rural Area of Colombia

Abstract

Only a few studies evaluate associations between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and developmental delay in preschool children. This is a cross sectional study examining the association between ACEs and global development in 94 preschool children in a poor rural area in Colombia. Data were collected through a Spanish version of an ACEs questionnaire and development was measured using the Battelle developmental inventory. Children were classified as having a high (≥4) or low (<4) risk ACEs score. Fourteen percent of the children qualified for a high risk ACEs score and developmental delay was found in 43.6% of the children. Logistic regression analysis showed that there was no statistically significant association between children with a high or low risk ACEs score in terms of developmental delay. Various factors not included in the study such as protective or resilience factors, social ACEs and the cultural – ecological interpretation of adversity could explain these results.