BOUNTIFUL FIELDS, STRESSFUL LIVES
Harvesting data in Immokalee to
protect children from toxic stress
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BY DOUG CARLSON
MMOKALEE, Fla. – On a
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sweltering afternoon, the young
daughter of migrant farmworkers
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waits for her well-child checkup at
Have you ever been away from a cancer and eating disorders – the physical
parent for a long time? illnesses – all of that goes way up over time if
Does someone at home push your you’re exposed to toxic stress.”
mother or stepmother a lot?
What the research has not yet demonstrated,
Has anyone in your family ever been and what Reyes and her team are trying to
Collier Read Medical Campus. In put in jail or prison or taken away by measure, is how interventions and coping skills
the 15 minutes before her name police? might mitigate the effects of toxic stress on
the College of Medicine’s Isabel
is called, she completes a survey
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“We know from the research that by age 18, if
children. Nor is there sufficient research on
consisting of 10 blunt, simple, yes-or-no items, you’ve had four or more of these experiences, implementation: How do you add a survey (and
including:
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then your probability of having an illness as an potentially a behavioral health intervention) to
A grown-up who lives with me says adult is much higher,” said Elena Reyes, director an already busy clinical practice?
bad words to me a lot. of the College of Medicine’s Center for Child
A grown-up who lives with me
“If you’ve been through an abuse situation, a $3 million, five-year grant from the federal
Somebody older than me has touched for example, you may have depression or PTSD Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
my private parts. or anxiety. Things like COPD, diabetes, obesity, Administration to address some of these
pushes me a lot.
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Stress and Health in Immokalee.
Reyes and Center for Child Stress and Health
Clinical Director Javier Rosado have received
questions.
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