
The Intergenerational Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences
Ripples on a Pond
Wiley-Blackwell (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 16. April 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-394-28240-1 (ISBN)
Description
Presents a Global, Evidence-Informed Examination of How Childhood Adversity Shapes Lives Across Generations
Understanding why adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) continue to shape health and wellbeing across generations requires a comprehensive, culturally informed exploration-one that brings together historical context, lived experience, and interventions grounded in evidence. The Intergenerational Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences examines ACEs through an international lens, demonstrating both their universality and the diverse ways they manifest across societies. Edited by psychologist Richard Pates and psychophysiologist Diane Riley, this groundbreaking volume situates ACEs within centuries of reflection on childhood adversity while highlighting the recent methodological advances that allow researchers and practitioners to assess their long-term psychological and physiological consequences with greater precision.
The book first traces the nature and scope of the problem, drawing on data, theory, and clinical insight to clarify how patterns of adversity repeat across generations and why they continue to challenge systems of care worldwide. Subsequent sections explore detailed accounts of lived experience from multiple countries and through discussions of intervention strategies ranging from established therapeutic approaches to emerging, experimental modalities. International contributors explore settings as varied as family homes, schools, and communities affected by conflict or displacement, as well as institutions that have caused profound harm.
The first comprehensive volume to examine ACEs through an explicitly international, cross-cultural framework, The Intergenerational Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences:
Presents a wide spectrum of intervention approaches, from established therapies to innovative experimental methods
Integrates historical context with contemporary research to illuminate long-term and intergenerational effects
Discusses how evidence-based practices can be more effectively implemented by front-line professionals
Features diverse narratives offering insight beyond clinical and academic perspectives
Offers crucial insights into resilience, recovery, and the role of supportive relationships
Includes dedicated chapters addressing adversity in underrepresented settings and communities
Illuminating not only the breadth of adversity but also the conditions that exacerbate or mitigate its impact, The Intergenerational Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences: Ripples on a Pond is invaluable for professionals and students working in psychology, social work, child development, education, public health, and related fields. Suitable for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses on childhood adversity, developmental psychopathology, trauma studies, and social determinants of health, it is also an essential reference for practitioners and policymakers engaged in addressing the consequences of ACEs.
Understanding why adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) continue to shape health and wellbeing across generations requires a comprehensive, culturally informed exploration-one that brings together historical context, lived experience, and interventions grounded in evidence. The Intergenerational Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences examines ACEs through an international lens, demonstrating both their universality and the diverse ways they manifest across societies. Edited by psychologist Richard Pates and psychophysiologist Diane Riley, this groundbreaking volume situates ACEs within centuries of reflection on childhood adversity while highlighting the recent methodological advances that allow researchers and practitioners to assess their long-term psychological and physiological consequences with greater precision.
The book first traces the nature and scope of the problem, drawing on data, theory, and clinical insight to clarify how patterns of adversity repeat across generations and why they continue to challenge systems of care worldwide. Subsequent sections explore detailed accounts of lived experience from multiple countries and through discussions of intervention strategies ranging from established therapeutic approaches to emerging, experimental modalities. International contributors explore settings as varied as family homes, schools, and communities affected by conflict or displacement, as well as institutions that have caused profound harm.
The first comprehensive volume to examine ACEs through an explicitly international, cross-cultural framework, The Intergenerational Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences:
Presents a wide spectrum of intervention approaches, from established therapies to innovative experimental methods
Integrates historical context with contemporary research to illuminate long-term and intergenerational effects
Discusses how evidence-based practices can be more effectively implemented by front-line professionals
Features diverse narratives offering insight beyond clinical and academic perspectives
Offers crucial insights into resilience, recovery, and the role of supportive relationships
Includes dedicated chapters addressing adversity in underrepresented settings and communities
Illuminating not only the breadth of adversity but also the conditions that exacerbate or mitigate its impact, The Intergenerational Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences: Ripples on a Pond is invaluable for professionals and students working in psychology, social work, child development, education, public health, and related fields. Suitable for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses on childhood adversity, developmental psychopathology, trauma studies, and social determinants of health, it is also an essential reference for practitioners and policymakers engaged in addressing the consequences of ACEs.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
John Wiley & Sons Inc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
434 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-394-28240-1 (9781394282401)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Richard Pates | Diane Riley
The Intergenerational Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences
Ripples on a Pond
E-Book
03/2026
1st Edition
Wiley
€71.99
Available for download

Richard Pates | Diane Riley
The Intergenerational Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences
Ripples on a Pond
E-Book
03/2026
1st Edition
Wiley
€71.99
Available for download
Persons
Richard Pates is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Visiting Professor of Psychology at the University of Worcester and Charles University, Prague. He has extensive experience working with adult survivors of childhood adversity and with children currently affected by ACEs. His research and clinical work focus on trauma, mental health, and evidence-based interventions designed to address the long-term consequences of early adverse experiences.
Diane Riley is a Psychophysiologist and Consultant who has worked with international organizations including the United Nations and serves as a Visiting Professor at several universities. A founding member of the International Harm Reduction Association, she has contributed widely to research and policy on substance use, public health, and social justice, with particular emphasis on the intersections of trauma, policy, and community wellbeing.
Diane Riley is a Psychophysiologist and Consultant who has worked with international organizations including the United Nations and serves as a Visiting Professor at several universities. A founding member of the International Harm Reduction Association, she has contributed widely to research and policy on substance use, public health, and social justice, with particular emphasis on the intersections of trauma, policy, and community wellbeing.
Editor
University of Worcester, UK; Charles University, Prague
International Harm Reduction Association
Content
Preface vii
Contributors' Biographies viii
Part 1 Introduction to ACEs 1
1 Childhood Adversity - Intergenerational Effects 3
Diane Riley and Richard Pates
2 Inheriting Trauma: Domestic Abuse Through the Lens of ACEs 44
Amy Johnson
Part 2 Experiences of ACEs 53
3 Yes, It Happened to Me!: The Lived Experience of ACEs, a Number of Stories 55
Richard Pates and Diane Riley
4 Letter to Breslau 74
Maya Lasker- Wallfisch
5 The Forgotten Generation, the War Children in Germany 82
Sabine Bode
6 Writing as Therapy for My Deep Personal Trauma 88
Alison Knight
7 The Aberfan Disaster 97
Gaynor Madgwick
8 Adverse Childhood Experiences and International Adoptions: Experiences from the Voices of Adopted Individuals 110
Diana S. Lesme Romero
9 Greek Adolescents 123
Anna Tsiboukli
10 Adverse Childhood Experiences and Mental Health: Micro and Macro Social Factors in Mexico 133
Liliana Templos- Nunez
11 Childhood Trauma and Adversity as Risk Factors for Violence 144
Jiaying Chen, Saima Ali, and Gwen Adshead
12 Indigenous People in Canada: The Role of Education Both in Creating Problems and in Alleviating Them 158
Diane Riley and Mike DeGagne
Part 3 Interventions 171
13 Interventions and Treatment for the Effects of ACEs 173
Diane Riley and Richard Pates
14 Trauma and ACE- Informed Approaches: Why it's Everyone's Business 201
Andrew Bennett
15 Systematic Capacity Building in Child and Adolescent Clinical Care in the Czech Republic: A Case Study 213
Michal Miovsky
16 A Family Affair! Fixing Adults to Break the Intergenerational Transmission of Suffering 227
Eric Breton, Elodie David, and Line Caron
17 Art Therapy: Safe (Enough) Spaces to Express Creatively What Words Can't Say 237
Deirdre McConnell
18 Solutions: Touch Therapy and Other Therapies 250
Adam Nicholls
19 Lived-Experience Leadership in Two Trauma Services: CHIME to Thrive and Staywell Derby CIC 259
Lauren Jones
Part 4 Discussion 273
20 Discussion 275
Richard Pates and Diane Riley
Index 301
Contributors' Biographies viii
Part 1 Introduction to ACEs 1
1 Childhood Adversity - Intergenerational Effects 3
Diane Riley and Richard Pates
2 Inheriting Trauma: Domestic Abuse Through the Lens of ACEs 44
Amy Johnson
Part 2 Experiences of ACEs 53
3 Yes, It Happened to Me!: The Lived Experience of ACEs, a Number of Stories 55
Richard Pates and Diane Riley
4 Letter to Breslau 74
Maya Lasker- Wallfisch
5 The Forgotten Generation, the War Children in Germany 82
Sabine Bode
6 Writing as Therapy for My Deep Personal Trauma 88
Alison Knight
7 The Aberfan Disaster 97
Gaynor Madgwick
8 Adverse Childhood Experiences and International Adoptions: Experiences from the Voices of Adopted Individuals 110
Diana S. Lesme Romero
9 Greek Adolescents 123
Anna Tsiboukli
10 Adverse Childhood Experiences and Mental Health: Micro and Macro Social Factors in Mexico 133
Liliana Templos- Nunez
11 Childhood Trauma and Adversity as Risk Factors for Violence 144
Jiaying Chen, Saima Ali, and Gwen Adshead
12 Indigenous People in Canada: The Role of Education Both in Creating Problems and in Alleviating Them 158
Diane Riley and Mike DeGagne
Part 3 Interventions 171
13 Interventions and Treatment for the Effects of ACEs 173
Diane Riley and Richard Pates
14 Trauma and ACE- Informed Approaches: Why it's Everyone's Business 201
Andrew Bennett
15 Systematic Capacity Building in Child and Adolescent Clinical Care in the Czech Republic: A Case Study 213
Michal Miovsky
16 A Family Affair! Fixing Adults to Break the Intergenerational Transmission of Suffering 227
Eric Breton, Elodie David, and Line Caron
17 Art Therapy: Safe (Enough) Spaces to Express Creatively What Words Can't Say 237
Deirdre McConnell
18 Solutions: Touch Therapy and Other Therapies 250
Adam Nicholls
19 Lived-Experience Leadership in Two Trauma Services: CHIME to Thrive and Staywell Derby CIC 259
Lauren Jones
Part 4 Discussion 273
20 Discussion 275
Richard Pates and Diane Riley
Index 301