Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are incidents or exposures to events or situations that have the potential to cause long-term negative impact on individuals, both in childhood and adulthood (CDC).
When the landmark ACEs study was conducted there were three main categories identified but there has since been a growing list of exposures with the potential to cause trauma including adverse community experiences like poverty, racism, and natural disasters.
CHILD ABUSE
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Emotional
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Physical
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Sexual
HOUSEHOLD CHALLENGES
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Substance misuse
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Mental Illness
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Suicidal thoughts and behavior
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Divorces or separation
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Incarceration
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Intimate partner violence or domestic violence
NEGLECT
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Emotional
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Physical
OTHER ADVERSITY
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Bullying
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Community violence
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Natural disasters
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Refugee or wartime experiences
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Witnessing or experiencing acts of terrorism
In a study published in 1998, over 17,000 adult patients of Kaiser Permenente, a major healthcare organization, completed confidential ACE surveys asking questions about past history of abuse, neglect, and family dysfunction, as well as links to risk factors and current adult health status, mental health and quality of life (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2012). Results of the study demonstrated how traumatic childhood experiences are a predictor of adolescent and adult long-term health, behavioral, and social problems.
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The higher the ACE score, the greater prevalence of negative health and behavioral outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. The study uncovered that physical and mental health conditions along with quality of life reports suggest individuals who reported higher numbers of ACEs in childhood also reported to have mental health struggles (e.g. depression, anxiety, PTSD), diseases (e.g. HIV,cancer, diabetes, lung disease), and engaged in risky behaviors (i.e. alcohol and drug abuse, unsafe sex, absenteeism) among other outcomes.
"I stumbled across this program and almost welled up with tears. Seeing things like this makes me proud to be from this city again. I wish there was something like this when I was growing up in my abusive household with an alcoholic parent." -A.L.
RESOURCES
Harvard University Center on the Developing Child: A Guide to Toxic Stress
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Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:
The Truth about ACEs
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The National Child Traumatic Stress Network: About Child Trauma