Brief Description
The Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACES) is used to measure childhood trauma through screening for childhood experiences that may significantly influence health and functioning. The ACES assesses 10 types of childhood trauma measured in the ACE Study in the 1990s and can be categorized into three general categories: abuse, neglect and household dysfunction. Respondents rate whether they experienced the childhood trauma examples listed (e.g., “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?”) on a Yes/No scale.
Assessment Administration Type
Self-report
Number of questions
10
Age Range for Administration
18+
Recommended Frequency of Administration
Screener
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
The ACES Questionnaire contains 10 questions scored on a 2-point Likert scale with values from 0 (“No”) to 1 (“Yes”). A total score is calculated by summing the item responses and ranges from 0 to 10; higher scores are associated with more experiences of childhood trauma.
Blueprint Adjustments
N/A
Clinical Considerations
Estimated completion time: 2-3 minutes
The ACE score is meant as a guideline to lead to further inquiry and conversation between patient and provider.
An Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) is defined as experiencing any of the following categories of abuse, neglect, or loss prior to age 18: physical abuse by a parent, emotional abuse by a parent, sexual abuse by anyone, growing up with an alcohol and/or drug abuser in the household, experiencing the incarceration of a household member, living with a family member experiencing mental illness, domestic violence, loss of a parent, emotional neglect, and physical neglect.
As an ACE score increases, so does the risk of disease and social and emotional problems. Findings from the original ACE study (linked below) show that people who experienced four or more adverse childhood events had increased risk for smoking, alcoholism and drug abuse, increased risk for depression and suicide attempts, poor self-rated health, 50 or more sexual partners, greater likelihood of sexually transmitted disease, challenges with physical inactivity, and severe obesity.
Citation
The Original ACE Study, a partnership between the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Kaiser Permanente (1994)
Relevant Articles + Further Resources
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