ACEs and resilience: Methodological and conceptual issues

We review progress in theory and research on resilience among youth from birth to young adulthood. Key models of resilience are presented as implemented in recent empirical research and several challenges are discussed. Next, we introduce the contribution of ecological and system perspectives for the study of resilience. We suggest that such theories are important for stimulating new research and organizing existing data, and that recent advances in these theories have expanded the potential for understanding resilience across the lifespan. We follow with a review of intervention and prevention programs that promote resilience. This includes the introduction and discussion of preventive intervention programs suited for families and youth exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Last, we introduce new directions in conceptualizing and studying resilience. We suggest that evolutionary developmental theory may usher in a new way of thinking about resilience, bearing significant implications for resilience and developmental science.