Social emotional learning and autonomic regulation enhance social connectedness in female adolescents with extensive exposure to adverse childhood experiences.

Résumé

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with social isolation, a known contributor to diminishing mental health with consequences for adolescent development. We evaluated effects of the SKY Schools program, which combines social emotional learning (SEL) with training in autonomic regulation (breathwork), on social connectedness (SC) in female Latinx adolescents with high ACEs, a group particularly vulnerable to ACEs effects. In this longitudinal study, female Latinx students (N = 174, 14-18 years; M = 14.97; SD = 0.97) in two Southern California high schools with high (≥4) and low (