Protective experiences against the impact of childhood adversity between 0-5 years: a scoping review

Early adversity has been linked to the main causes of morbidity and mortality in adults.Its occurrence in preschool children is frequent and particularly harmful.This scoping review sought to explore the empirical evidence about protective experiences capable of moderating the impact of adversity experienced up to 5 years of age in various areas of development, considering outcomes up to 17 years of age in physical and mental health, as well as affective, cognitive, behavioral, social, and educational aspects.For this purpose, a search was conducted in the databases PubMed, Medline Complete, Scopus and Web of Science, in the month of June 2024.This allowed the selection of nine articles (2018-2023).Through a thematic analysis, five clusters of protective experiences were identified: a) parental involvement and child well-being; b) acceptance responses and closeness to parental bonding; c) protective socio-community environment; d) quality of the school environment, and e) targeted interventions and programs.This suggests that the impact of early adversity can be mitigated through experiences that strengthen children's resources to overcome challenges throughout life.The results obtained can guide the design of selective and indicated prevention strategies with children and youth exposed to early adversity, considering simultaneous multidisciplinary contributions in family, educational and community contexts.Future research can overcome the limitations of this review, as well as explore the effectiveness of prevention of the impact of early adversity.