29 2. Reduce the risk of developing an opioid use disorder34 According to the Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (CAPT) in SAMHSA, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) – including stressful or traumatic events such as abuse and neglect – are “strongly related to the development and prevalence of a wide range of health problems throughout a person’s lifespan, including those associating with substance misuse.” This image from CAPT illustrates the impact of ACEs throughout a lifetime. In a policy brief, the Campaign for Trauma-Informed Policy and Practice reports a recent study that finds “over 80% of the patients seeking treatment for opioid addiction had at least one form of childhood trauma, with almost two- thirds reporting having witnessed violence in childhood.”35 A 2017 study showed that, even in people over 50, mental health issues and substance use disorders are significantly associated with ACEs, leading to the conclusion that prevention strategies should take this correlation into account.36 The research on this topic began with a foundational study of ACEs in 1998. In this significant work, persons who had experienced four or more categories of childhood exposure, compared to those who had experienced none, had 4- to 12-fold increased health risks for alcoholism, drug abuse, depression and suicide attempts, among other negative outcomes.37 Source: Center for the Application of Prevention Technologie