Infant Mental Health and the Assessment of Adverse and Protective Childhood Experiences

This chapter provides an overview of contemporary approaches to the assessment of adverse and protective childhood experiences. The growing interest in preventing the impact of adversity during childhood and mitigating the intergenerational transmission of trauma is discussed through describing assessment approaches to reduce risk and promote resilience in infancy, early childhood, and among caregivers. Assessment for both caregiver and infant adversity and protection is necessary for screening, eligibility determination, and prevention intervention. This chapter describes psychometrically strong and feasible assessment tools for adversity, including the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale (ACE-SQ), the Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure (MACE) Scale, and The Family Map, as well as for protection, including the Protective and Compensatory Experiences (PACE) Scale, the Benevolent Childhood Experiences (BCE) Scale, and Positive Childhood Experiences (PCE) Scale. The importance of cultural and international perspectives on assessment is emphasized, as well as new directions in assessment that will better inform research and practice in infant and early childhood mental health.