About Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are common childhood experiences that are often harmful. In the original ACEs study by Vincent Felitti and his colleagues, ten types of ACEs were identified: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, material neglect, emotional neglect, living with a family member who had a problem with substance use or mental illness or who spent time in jail, witnessing violence at home, or having parents who permanently separated.
The number of such experiences that a person has had (sometimes called their “ACE score”) correlates with their risk of many adult health problems including chronic physical diseases (e.g. heart disease and stroke, COPD, liver disease, some cancers), mental illness (e.g. depression, anxiety disorders, suicide risk), substance use disorder, and other indicators of health risk (e.g. smoking, obesity, sexually transmitted diseases). ACEs are also associated with treatment non-adherence and both overuse and under-use of healthcare resources in different contexts.
Subsequent researchers have produced evidence supporting an expansion of the categories of ACEs to include experiencing stigma or discrimination, being bullied, living in an unsafe neighborhood, and witnessing community violence.
ACEs are very common. Using a survey of the original ten categories, representative population samples consistently show that about half or more of adults report at least one ACE, and about 15% of adults experienced 4 or more ACEs while they were growing up, which is a high risk category for health.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are common childhood experiences that are often harmful. In the original ACEs study by Vincent Felitti and his colleagues, ten types of ACEs were identified: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, material neglect, emotional neglect, living with a family member who had a problem with substance use or mental illness or who spent time in jail, witnessing violence at home, or having parents who permanently separated.
The number of such experiences that a person has had (sometimes called their “ACE score”) correlates with their risk of many adult health problems including chronic physical diseases (e.g. heart disease and stroke, COPD, liver disease, some cancers), mental illness (e.g. depression, anxiety disorders, suicide risk), substance use disorder, and other indicators of health risk (e.g. smoking, obesity, sexually transmitted diseases). ACEs are also associated with treatment non-adherence and both overuse and under-use of healthcare resources in different contexts.
Subsequent researchers have produced evidence supporting an expansion of the categories of ACEs to include experiencing stigma or discrimination, being bullied, living in an unsafe neighborhood, and witnessing community violence.
ACEs are very common. Using a survey of the original ten categories, representative population samples consistently show that about half or more of adults report at least one ACE, and about 15% of adults experienced 4 or more ACEs while they were growing up, which is a high risk category for health.