Yogyakarta – The Center for Public Mental Health (CPMH) of the Faculty of Psychology at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) once again held an online lecture titled “Childhood Footprints: The Impact of Adverse Experiences and the Power of Positive Experiences” on Friday (07/18). The theme explored how childhood experiences affect mental health and how positive experiences can counteract painful ones.
In her presentation, Diana Setiyawati, S.Psi., MHSc., Ph.D., Psikolog, a lecturer at UGM’s Faculty of Psychology, emphasized that life stress alone is not the sole cause of mental disorders.
“Mental disorders can arise when stress meets vulnerability. Vulnerability is a condition in which a person is in a weakened state, making them more susceptible to threats or risky situations,” she explained.
One type of stress widely discussed in psychology is Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). ACEs include various forms of traumatic events experienced by individuals from birth to 18 years old and have been proven to have long-term impacts on physical and mental health.
Citing a meta-analysis study by Adigan et al., Diana explained that among 500,000 adults across 206 study regions worldwide, 61.6% had experienced at least one ACE, and 16.1% had experienced four or more. The effects of ACEs vary—some children are able to survive and thrive, some only manage to survive without growth, while others perpetuate the harm to others, even across generations.
However, there is hope—effective parenting can serve as an antidote to the wounds caused by ACEs. According to Diana, effective parenting is not merely about meeting a child’s physical needs but about creating a strong and meaningful emotional bond.
“Effective parenting is the ability of parents to truly engage in their child’s life. It requires daily efforts to connect personally, with sufficient quality and quantity of time. Through such parenting, children learn to grow into healthy and resilient individuals,” she concluded.
Writer: Relung Fajar Sukmawati