Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Adverse Childhood Experiences or "ACEs" are experiences children have before they turn 18. They include experiences such as physical and emotional abuse, neglect, caregiver mental illness, and household violence. The term ACEs comes from a study done in 1995 by Kaiser Permanente who began asking their members more detailed information about their childhood experiences.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / Credit: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
They surveyed over 17,000 members and found that almost two-thirds of the participants reported at least one ACE, and more than one in five reported three or more ACEs.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / Credit: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The short- and long-term outcomes of these childhood exposures resulted in both health and social problems. As the number of ACEs increased, the risk for health problems later in life also increased. The following health problems have been linked to adverse childhood experiences.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / Credit: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Since the original study there have been other studies done that have expanded the research. One study the The Philadelphia ACE Project, looked at ACEs among inner-city youth and the implications of intergenerational trauma. In the first study conducted by Kaiser Permanente and the CDC of 17,000 participants, 69.9% of participants had at least one ACE. In the expanded ACEs study conducted by the Philadelphia ACE Project, 83.2% of participants had at least one ACE. The graphic below captures the original types of ACEs (i.e., childhood abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction) as well as the expanded ACEs, whereby the expanded ACEs consists of additional items that measure exposure to bullying, community violence, neighborhood safety, racism, and living in foster care.
Source: Cronholm, P. F., Forke, C. M., Wade, R., Bair-Merritt, M. H., Davis, M., Harkins-Schwarz, M., Pachter, L. M., & Fein, J. A. (2015). Adverse childhood experiences: Expanding the concept of adversity. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 49(3), 354–361.
You can take the original ACE Survey here.