Find Your ACE Score

 

This Questionnaire is used with permission from the Acestoohigh.com website. For a detailed discussion of the ACE score,

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While you were growing up, during your first 18 years of life:

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1. Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often... Swear at you, insult you, put you down, or humiliate you?

or

Act in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt?
Yes   No        If yes enter 1

 

2. Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often... Push, grab, slap, or throw something at you?

or
Ever hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured?

Yes   No       If yes enter 1

 

3. Did an adult or person at least 5 years older than you ever...
Touch or fondle you or have you touch their body in a sexual way?

or

Attempt or actually have oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse with you?
Yes    No      If yes enter 1

 

4. Did you often or very often feel that ...
No one in your family loved you or thought you were important or special?

or

Your family didn’t look out for each other, feel close to each other, or support each other?

Yes    No      If yes enter 1 ________

 

5. Did you often or very often feel that ...
You didn’t have enough to eat, had to wear dirty clothes, and had no one to protect you?

or

Your parents were too drunk or high to take care of you or take you to the doctor if you needed it?

Yes    No      If yes enter 1 ________

 

6. Were your parents ever separated or divorced?
Yes    No      If yes enter 1 ________

 

7. Was your mother or stepmother:
Often or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at her?

or
Sometimes, often, or very often kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, or hit with something hard?

or
Ever repeatedly hit at least a few minutes or threatened with a gun or knife?

Yes    No      If yes enter 1 ________

 

8. Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic or who used street drugs?

Yes    No      If yes enter 1 ________

 

9. Was a household member depressed or mentally ill, or did a household member attempt suicide?

Yes    No      If yes enter 1 ________

 

10. Did a household member go to prison?

Yes    No      If yes enter 1 ________

 

Now add up your “Yes” answers:   _______       This is your ACE Score.   

 

 

Now that you’ve got your ACE score, what does it mean?

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First….a tiny bit of background to help you figure this out…..(if you want the back story about the fascinating origins of the ACE Study, read The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study — the largest, most important public health study you never heard of — began in an obesity clinic.)

The CDC’s Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study) uncovered a stunning link between childhood trauma and the chronic diseases people develop as adults, as well as social and emotional problems. This includes heart disease, lung cancer, diabetes and many autoimmune diseases, as well as depression, violence, being a victim of violence, and suicide.

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The first research results were published in 1998, followed by 57 other publications through 2011. They showed that:

• childhood trauma was very common, even in employed white middle-class, college-educated people with great health insurance;

• there was a direct link between childhood trauma and adult onset of chronic disease, as well as depression, suicide, being violent and a victim of violence;

• more types of trauma increased the risk of health, social and emotional problems.

• people usually experience more than one type of trauma – rarely is it only sex abuse or only verbal abuse.

 

A whopping two thirds of the 17,000 people in the ACE Study had an ACE score of at least one — 87 percent of those had more than one. Eighteen states have done their own ACE surveys; their results are similar to the CDC’s ACE Study.

 

The study’s researchers came up with an ACE score to explain a person’s risk for chronic disease. Think of it as a cholesterol score for childhood toxic stress. You get one point for each type of trauma. The higher your ACE score, the higher your risk of health and social problems. (Of course, other types of trauma exist that could contribute to an ACE score, so it is conceivable that people could have ACE scores higher than 10; however, the ACE Study measured only 10 types.)

As your ACE score increases, so does the risk of disease, social and emotional problems. With an ACE score of 4 or more, things start getting serious. The likelihood of chronic pulmonary lung disease increases 390 percent; hepatitis, 240 percent; depression 460 percent; suicide, 1,220 percent.

 

 

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