The history of Scotland's ACEs movement: grounded in a focus on relationships

Abstract

As 2021 commences, Scotland finds itself in the midst of a dynamic movement driven by awareness of the science of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). That drive comes from unparalleled grassroots interest as well as moves towards reform in public services. This article traces the history of Scotland's ACEs journey, published, to our knowledge, for the first time in an academic journal. The start of the movement is dated to 2005, when the newly founded Violence Reduction Unit adopted a developmentally informed, public health approach to reducing Scotland's high rate of violence. In 2017, a national tour of the documentary film Resilience sparked widespread public engagement. It demonstrates that, from the outset, the Scottish movement has been grounded in a focus on relationships. This aligns it with an attachment perspective, posing an interesting contrast with the epidemiological origins of the ACE Study itself and the associated movement that has since emerged in the USA. The significance of this distinction has received insufficient consideration, perhaps because the trajectory of the Scottish ACEs movement has not been apparent. This article provides that narrative and reflects on its theoretical and practical implications.