• Childhood adversity: A broad term that refers to a wide range of circumstances or events that pose a serious threat to a child’s physical or psychological well-being that may occur during all developmental stages including prenatal, infancy, and throughout childhood and adolescence.¹
• Social determinants of health: The conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that may affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.¹
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Typically refers to the subset of adverse events occurring in childhood (0-17) identified by the Adverse Childhood Experience study conducted in the late 1990s by Drs. Felitti and Anda. Current scientific research endorses the use of the broader term childhood adversity or expanded Adverse Childhood Experiences that include individual- and community-level indicators to measure adversity in childhood more accurately.¹
• Trauma: The experience of an event, series of events, or immediate or ongoing circumstances that interrupt or inhibit a person’s sense of safety, agency, dignity, and/or belonging. An individual, a generation, or an entire community or culture may experience traumatic events. The impacts of traumatic experiences can vary widely according to when they occur in a person’s development and what protective or mediating factors are available and accessible.²
• Historical trauma: The intergenerational trauma experienced by a specific cultural group as a result of historical systematic oppression. Impacts of current traumatic exposure can be exacerbated by a traumatic ancestral past, resulting in additional adversity.¹
• Toxic stress: The prolonged activation of the body’s stress response system without adequate support. Extended exposure to toxic stress can result in the interruption of typical development in children and adolescents, which can have consequences for long-term mental and physical health issues throughout the lifespan. This may potentially negatively affect the health of future generations.
• Secondary traumatic stress: The emotional duress as a result of an individual witnessing or hearing about the firsthand trauma experiences of another. Recognized as a common occupational hazard experienced by those serving trauma-impacted populations, placing them at high risk for secondary traumatic stress or the related conditions of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and vicarious trauma. Negative organizational effects that can result from secondary traumatic stress are increased absenteeism, impaired judgment, low productivity, poorer quality of work, higher staff turnover, and greater staff friction.¹
• Primary prevention: Practices or policies that aim to prevent disease or injury before it ever occurs.
• Protective factors: Characteristics or conditions that reduce or buffer the effects of risk, stress, or trauma exposure.
• Resilience: The learned ability of a child or adult to recover from and show effective adaptation following traumatic events or an accumulation of adverse circumstances. A consistent and nurturing relationship with at least one supportive parent, caregiver, or other adult is the single most common factor for children who develop resilience.¹
• Community resilience: The ability to collectively prepare for anticipated hazards, adapt to changing conditions, and withstand and recover from disruptions. Systemic resilience refers to policies and practices that promote healing.
• Trauma-informed approach: A strengths-based framework that recognizes the widespread impact of trauma and emphasizes physical, psychological, and emotional safety for both individuals and providers. The act of being trauma-informed requires ongoing learning, reflection, and adaptation.
• Trauma-informed care: A service delivery model that recognizes the widespread impact of trauma and emphasizes physical and emotional safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration, and empowerment.¹
• Healing-centered engagement: An asset-driven approach, focusing on strengths, well-being, and positive outcomes that uses a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to addressing childhood adversity developed by Dr. Shawn Ginwright. This approach goes beyond treating trauma to promoting well-being and healing in a holistic and culturally grounded manner.¹

References

1. Source: Whole Health Louisiana State Plan. Pages 8-9. https://wholehealthlouisiana.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Whole_Health_Louisiana_State_Plan_November2023_FINAL_VERSION.pdf
2. Source: McGlynn-Wright, T., & Briner, L. (2021, March 30). Integrative Trauma and Healing Framework. In the Works.. Retrieved from https://intheworksllc. squarespace.com/inflections/2021/3/30/integrativetrauma-and-healing-framework
3. Source: Hopper, E. K., Bassuk, E. L., & Olivet, J. (2010). Shelter from the Storm: Trauma-Informed Care in Homelessness Services Settings.
4. Source: https://www.traumainformedcare.chcs.org/what-is-trauma-informed-care/