What ACEs/PCEs do you have?

What ACEs do you have?

There are 10 types of childhood trauma measured in the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. (There are many others…see below.) Five are personal — physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect. Five are related to other family members: a parent who’s an alcoholic, a mother who’s a victim of domestic violence, a family member in jail, a family member diagnosed with a mental illness, and experiencing divorce of parents. Each type of trauma counts as one. So a person who’s been physically abused, with one alcoholic parent, and a mother who was beaten up has an ACE score of three.

There are, of course, many other types of childhood trauma — racism, bullying, watching a sibling being abused, losing a caregiver (grandmother, mother, grandfather, etc.), homelessness, surviving and recovering from a severe accident, witnessing a father being abused by a mother, witnessing a grandmother abusing a father, involvement with the foster care system, involvement with the juvenile justice system, etc. The ACE Study included only those 10 childhood traumas because those were mentioned as most common by a group of about 300 Kaiser members; those traumas were also well studied individually in the research literature.

The most important thing to remember is that the ACE score is meant as a guideline: If you experienced other types of toxic stress over months or years, then those would likely increase your risk of health consequences, depending on the positive childhood experiences you had (see below).

Prior to your 18th birthday:

  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?
    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?
    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?
    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?
    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?
    No___If Yes, enter 1 __
  6. Were your parents ever separated or divorced?
    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 over at least a few minutes or threatened with a gun or knife?
    No___If Yes, enter 1 __
  8. Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic, or who used street drugs?
    No___If Yes, enter 1 __
  9. Was a household member depressed or mentally ill, or did a household member attempt suicide?                        No___If Yes, enter 1 __
  10. Did a household member go to prison?
    No___If Yes, enter 1 __

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

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Now that you know your ACEs, what does it mean?

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.

The first research results were published in 1998, followed by more than 70 other publications through 2015. 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. Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia have done their own ACE surveys; their results are similar to the CDC’s ACE Study.

acescores

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; attempted suicide, 1,220 percent.

(By the way, lest you think that the ACE Study was yet another involving inner-city poor people of color, take note: The study’s participants were 17,000 mostly white, middle and upper-middle class college-educated San Diegans with good jobs and great health care – they all belonged to the Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization. Prior to the ACE Study, most research about effects of abuse, neglect, etc., involved poor people of color who live in the inner city. And so the notion was that it was inner-city people of color who experienced abuse, neglect, etc., not white middle-class or white upper-class people….that somehow white people of means were immune from the kinds of problems affecting people who were poor. That’s not only ridiculous, but it was just another way to perpetrate racism and classism. The ACE Study quashed that notion. So, it’s not that I’m saying that the ACE Study is credible because it was done on white people, I’m saying that the ACE Study opened the door to an understanding that ACEs are at the root of nearly all problems of physical, mental, economic and social health in humans, no matter where in the world those humans live. The ACE Study and the other research that makes up ACEs science provided an opening to a better understanding of the constructs that make up our notion of why people suffer ill health — physical, mental, economic, social — and that includes systemic racism. )

Here are some specific graphic examples of how increasing ACE scores increase the risk of some diseases, social and emotional problems. All of these graphs come from “The relationship of adverse childhood experiences to adult health, well being, social function and health care”, a book chapter by Drs. Vincent Felitti and Robert Anda, co-founders of the ACE Study, in “The Hidden Epidemic: The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease.”

 

 

 

 

 

What causes this?

At the same time that the ACE Study was being done, parallel research on kids’ brains found that toxic stress damages the structure and function of a child’s developing brain. This was determined by a group of neuroscientists and pediatricians, including neuroscientist Martin Teicher and pediatrician Jack Shonkoff, both at Harvard University, neuroscientist Bruce McEwen at Rockefeller University, and child psychiatrist Bruce Perry at the Child Trauma Academy.

When children are overloaded with stress hormones, they’re in flight, fright or freeze mode. They can’t learn in school. They often have difficulty trusting adults or developing healthy relationships with peers (i.e., they become loners). To relieve their anxiety, depression, guilt, shame, and/or inability to focus, they turn to easily available biochemical solutions — nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamine — or activities in which they can escape their problems — high-risk sports, proliferation of sex partners, and work/over-achievement. (e.g. Nicotine reduces anger, increases focus and relieves depression. Alcohol relieves stress.)

Using drugs or overeating or engaging in risky behavior leads to consequences as a direct result of this behavior.
For example, smoking can lead to COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) or lung cancer. Overeating can lead to obesity and diabetes. In addition, there is increasing research that shows that severe and chronic stress leads to bodily systems producing an inflammatory response that leads to disease.
 

In addition, toxic stress can be passed down from generation to generation. The field of epigenetics shows that we are born with a set of genes that can be turned on and off, depending on what’s happening in our environment. If a child grows up with an overload of toxic stress, their stress-response genes are likely to be activated so that they are easily triggered by stressful situations that don’t affect those who don’t grow up with toxic stress. They can pass that response onto their children.  

Fortunately, brains and lives are somewhat plastic. Resilience research shows that the appropriate integration of resilience factors — such as asking for help, developing trusting relationships, forming a positive attitude, listening to feelings — can help people improve their lives.

For more information about ACEs science and how it’s being used, go to: PACEs Science 101.

For more information about the ACE Study, check out the CDC’s ACE Study site.

Here’s a link to the long questionnaire (200+ questions).

For more information about PACEs science, go to PACEs Science 101.

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What are PCEs — positive childhood experiences?

Although there is still much to learn about ACEs and how to prevent and mitigate their effects, we also all know that childhood experiences are not limited to those that involve adversity. All childhood experiences matter. In the last few years, researchers have started to examine the impacts of positive childhood experiences (PCEs) on children and adults.

In 2019, a team of researchers — Dr. Christina Bethell, Jennifer Jones, Dr. Narangerel Gombojav, Dr. Jeff Linkenbach and Dr. Robert Sege — found a dose-response association between positive childhood experiences and adult mental and relationship health among adults who had experienced ACEs, irrespective of how many ACEs they had. This means that it’s really important to have positive childhood experiences, no matter how much adversity you have in your life. And if you have a lot of adversity and a lot of positive childhood experiences, you are less likely to suffer the consequences of ACEs. However if you have no positive childhood experiences and few ACEs, the consequences of the ACEs are more likely to appear. Positive Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental and Relational Health in a Statewide Sample: Associations Across Adverse Childhood Experiences Levels | JAMA Pediatrics.

To find out what positive childhood experiences you have, answer the following questions. How much or how often during your childhood did you:

  1. feel able to talk to your family about feelings;
  2. feel your family stood by you during difficult times;
  3. enjoy participating in community traditions;
  4. feel a sense of belonging in high school;
  5. feel supported by friends;
  6. have at least two non-parent adults who took genuine interest in you; and
  7. feel safe and protected by an adult in your home.

In terms of research, these are still early days, says Dr. Robert Whitaker, director of Research and Research Education at the Columbia-Bassett Program and professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University: “This area of PACEs research is emerging, but the boundaries of that research have not really been defined, particular as complement to the well-established body of research on resilience.”

APACES1

From  “Brains: Journey to Resilience”, Alberta Family Wellness Initiative.

APACES2

APACES3

“PCEs may have lifelong consequences for mental and relational health despite co-occurring adversities such as ACEs,” noted Dr. Christina Bethell in Positive Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental and Relational Health in a Statewide Sample: Associations Across Adverse Childhood Experiences Levels. Bethell is professor at Johns Hopkins University in the Bloomberg School of Public Health and founding director of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative. “In this way, they support application of the World Health Organization’s definition of health emphasizing that health is more than the absence of disease or adversity. The World Health Organization’s positive construct of health is aligned with the proactive promotion of positive experiences in childhood because they are foundational to optimal childhood development and adult flourishing.”

However, in terms of integrating what we know about PACEs, we have enough information to continue integrating the science into our work. If we want to change individuals, organizations, communities, and systems we need to talk about both positive and adverse childhood experiences — PACEs — and how they intertwine throughout our lives….

  • At the individual level, learning about ACEs helps us understand why we behave the way we do, and that our coping behavior is normal…a normal response to abnormal circumstances. Learning about PCEs provides direction to heal. The key concept about PACEs is that learning about both, together, can help improve our health and well-being. It gives us hope.
  • At the organizational level, staff and leaders can use knowledge of PACEs to create healing-centered work environments and programs in all sectors.
  • At the community level, educating the public about PACEs can provide hope and foster the development of innovative ideas about how to support families, organizations and communities. Understanding the interplay between positive and adverse experiences offers opportunity for engagement with all sectors. Communities can use this new lens to create mindful, healing-centered, research-informed approaches to prevent adversity and encourage connection and healing.
  • At the system level, policymakers and leaders can use research about PACEs to find common ground across fields and to support policies that promote the understanding of PACEs and how adversity and positive experiences work together.

At least two organizations are taking this approach and doing research to guide their actions:

  • The Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences (HOPE) team at Tufts Medical Center have identified four building blocks that lessen the negative effects of ACEs: relationships, environments, engagement, and social emotional development. HOPE – Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences
  • The Hope Research Center at the University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, focuses its research on the “science and power of hope as a psychological strength, especially among those experiencing trauma and adversity.” The Center defines hope as “the belief that the future will be better and you have the power to make it so.” Hope Research Center (ou.edu)
 

If you’re interested in becoming more involved in the PACEs science community, join our companion social network, PACEs Connection. Just go to PACEsConnection.com and click “Join”. PACEsConnection.com is the leading advocate for information about the science of positive and adverse childhood experiences (PACEs) and the rapidly expanding, global PACEs science movement. 

3,100 comments

    • Shannon,

      Negative experiences burn like a scar on the psyche at an early age before the brain has time to mature. Some folks are more sensitive than others, therefore, their scars can be more intense. But, I feel like, my generation at least, had a culture of ignoring type of negative behaviors cuz their parents “did the same thing.” Which is a crock. Rationalization shouldn’t be used as an excuse. Articles like this are a God-send to people like me – now I don’t feel so alone in my feelings.

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  14. I scored a 6 on the ACE, explains a lot because though my childhood was traumatic it was compounded by my mothers need to keep up appearances and pretend to the outside world that our family life was normal. From my teens to 50s I suffered constant illness, stomach ulcers, asthma, chronic sinusitis, autoimmune skin complaints as well as a fondness for alcohol, difficulties in holding down jobs and relationship problems. What kept me functioning was the good habit of regular exercise, but what began the healing was learning to meditate and doing chi gong regularly. These to things healed the body and give the mind space to not be overwhelmed by negative emotions. I’m not saying therapy is not necessary but for me they work. I’m in my 60s now and probably the most stable and happy than I have been. Shame that took so long to find the key because in some ways I feel that I have lived a wasted life, on the other hand though maybe that is what what life is all about, at least for some, and the time we need to heal ourselves is irrelevant in the greater scheme of things.

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    • Same ….. I was a 7 …. Just trying to understand why I continued to let Abuse happen … At a good place now …. Even thou the Scars will never leave…

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    • Dear John, Ummm… what? Future me, is that you. Thank you so very much for sharing your experience John. The details are different, the feelings are EXACTLY the same.

      I am still working at it but unequivocally rigorous exercise is key as well as healing the body and mind with structured movement (yoga and the like) meditation, therapy, and herbal medicines such as ashwaganda to help manage the negative impact of stress hormones.

      Thank you for sharing.

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    • I’m proud of you for finding what works for you. Healing is definitely hard work. Thank you for showing some of us it will continue to get better as long as we keep on trying.

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    • John,
      I scored 5 on the ACE test. My abuse was so passive and under the radar (verbal abuse and emotional neglect) that I never even considered myself abused. Not until the MeeToo movement did I stop and reflect on my past experiences with men and my family.
      I knew that my past experiences were to blame, but I didn’t know that childhood abuse really never goes away. I am a very spiritual person now, and used that learning to heal myself – but are we really ever “healed” – I mean, completely? The vague feelings of discontent slowly creep in so unconsciously that I don’t even notice for a while. Not until my pants are super tight, then my ego starts the internal thought shaming. Luckily, the Higher Self comes in to mother me. But the shame is still there. Learning about ACE now is helping me bring in more Grace and hopefully mitigate the negative self-talk that brings on depression in me.

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      • I scored a 9 on the ACE survey. The shame is so freaking pervasive. I’ve only just realized how much shame I have. It’s held me back all of my life. With the advent of neuroplasticity, I have hope that I can reverse some of the early damage now in hopes of realizing my full potential.

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  55. I just learned about the ACE concept and rationale. Brilliant! I will do my part to start spreading the word.

    The children of marginalized families, in poorer communities, face many challenges that larger institutions created but aren’t held accountable for. The blame and punishment are on the victim, not the perp.

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  57. I scored 9 on the ACE questions and 0 on resilience, I’ve had a cancer diagnosis and have been an addict since I was a child…

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    • I’m so sorry that your very high ACE score has caused you so much pain, Catharine. It all seems so unfair, doesn’t it? I hope you are able to find a way to get some loving support as you deal with these terrible outcomes from your childhood. I myself am working on my addiction through a grace-filled 12-Step group, and have a team of physicians who help me try to manage my many health problems. I wish you the very best.

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  62. I have a question. On question #9 of the ACE survey, it asks, “was a household member depressed or mentally ill, or did a household member attempt suicide?” Does this include the person who is taking the survey herself, or only other members of the household?

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  65. Why does #7 not say mother or father. MANY wives physically abuse/batter their husbands. Change it! Shameful and discriminatory. Darla

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    • It says in the article that the word mother was used (as well as the other specific examples) because it was one of the most commonly reported ACES in the research study but mentions that fathers, grandparents etc suffering abuse are also adverse experiences and there are many others not listed

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      • “witnessing a father being abused by a mother, witnessing a grandmother abusing a father,” … “The ACE Study included only those 10 childhood traumas because those were mentioned as most common by a group of about 300 Kaiser members; those traumas were also well studied individually in the research literature.”

        I just copied it directly from the article here for accuracy sake but basically what I was trying to say

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  67. I have an ACE score of 5 but a PCE score of ZERO! The latter is way more disturbing to me. Is this normal???? Can you recover from it?? I feel like lots of people have bad stuff happen to them but it is normal to have ZERO pces??? I feel really doomed, my sense of self is very weak. How do you treat it!!!!??????

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      • Yes u can develop resilience. I scored an 8 on aces test & a 5 on resilience. I’m getting better & refuse to give in!

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    • I was EXACTLY the same as you. Yes you can overcome it. I got a therapist who I really trusted. She showed me a path to healing and helped me every step of the way. You are NOT doomed.

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  74. I received a 0 out 10. I have to say I know friends that their scores would have been higher and it makes complete sense on how as an adult they have been diagnosed with anxiety and depression.

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    • It’s useful and helpful to also see the “non-psych” aspects of their lives, too. Are they in poor health from opportunistic diseases, are they potentially harried over-achievers, or “lazy” underachievers? The implications for folks who have high ACEs with low resilience capabilities can be masked or camouflaged by other things happening in their lives. I think it’s helpful to try to see the larger aspects of those lives – their “aura” of chaos and disorder, failed and broken relationships, etc. perhaps – as part of the ACEs spectrum.

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  75. […] The ACE Study found that the higher someone’s ACE score – the more types of childhood adversity a person experienced – the higher their risk of chronic disease, mental illness, violence, being a victim of violence and a bunch of other consequences. The study found that most people (64%) have at least one ACE; 12% of the population has an ACE score of 4. Having an ACE score of 4 nearly doubles the risk of heart disease and cancer. It increases the likelihood of becoming an alcoholic by 700 percent and the risk of attempted suicide by 1200 percent. (For more information, go to ACEs Science 101. To calculate your ACE and resilience scores, go to: Got Your ACE Score?) […]

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  77. […] https://www.tedmed.com/talks/show?id=293066 Watch the Ted Talk, review the John Hopkins document and then calculate your own ACES score using the link below. You don’t need to share your score (unless you choose to) but it may help you to understand yourself better and those that you work or live with. I, do, however, want each of you to share your impressions. What have you learned? How might you use the ACES study to work with clients? What ACEs/PCEs do you have? […]

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  78. I scored 4/10 in ACES. I found this very interesting as it got me to think back and reflect on this and how i am the person i am today because of it.

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  79. […] https://www.tedmed.com/talks/show?id=293066 Watch the Ted Talk, review the John Hopkins document and then calculate your own ACES score using the link below. You don’t need to share your score (unless you choose to) but it may help you to understand yourself better and those that you work or live with. I, do, however, want each of you to share your impressions. What have you learned? How might you use the ACES study to work with clients? What ACEs/PCEs do you have? […]

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  80. […] https://www.tedmed.com/talks/show?id=293066 Watch the Ted Talk, review the John Hopkins document and then calculate your own ACES score using the link below. You don’t need to share your score (unless you choose to) but it may help you to understand yourself better and those that you work or live with. I, do, however, want each of you to share your impressions. What have you learned? How might you use the ACES study to work with clients? What ACEs/PCEs do you have? […]

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  82. […] The incidence of obesity, diabetes and heart problems, cancer and other diseases goes up when a child lives with toxic stress. Additionally, their chances of depression, substance abuse and dependence, smoking, teen pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted disease, suicide and domestic violence greatly increase. So does their tendency to be more violent or to become a victim of violence. Studies done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have shown that when a child is subjected to frequent or continual stress from thing like neglect, abuse, dysfunctional families or domestic abuse, and they lack adequate support from adults, their brain architecture is actually altered and their organ systems become weakened. As a result, these kids risk lifelong health and social problems. Of the 17,000 people who took part in the CDC study, two thirds had an Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) score of 1 or higher. 87% of those people had more than one ACE. By measuring and scoring ten types of trauma ranging from childhood sexual abuse to neglect or bullying and even divorce, researchers were able to assess the chronic disease risk for the study’s mostly white, middle class participants. Their results show that the problem of toxic stress isn’t limited to children who face poverty or to those who come from certain ethnic groups – children from all walks of life can have high ACE scores. If you are interested in finding out your ACE score and what it might mean for you, go here. […]

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  83. 10 outta 10 ace
    1 outta 10 pace
    Explains a lot! Experiencing grief and praise for the awareness of this information. Perception IS everything! Thru understanding the reality of my hardware, family & ancestry, I am beginning to learn how to work w what Ive got. What else you got? Everything else pales in comparison to the nuances of reality. Thank You for this. 🙏🏼
    ps…I found this info via book ‘Mother Hunger’ by Kelly McDaniel

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  85. I am surprised bullying is not part of the ACE scoring. I was bullied from as young as I can remember through high school. I was not well liked nor did I fit in well. I was however, oblivious to the rejection of others because it had happened for so long I didn’t pick up on the signs that people didn’t want me around. I inserted myself into the lives of others.

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  86. […] https://www.tedmed.com/talks/show?id=293066 Watch the Ted Talk, review the John Hopkins document and then calculate your own ACES score using the link below. You don’t need to share your score (unless you choose to) but it may help you to understand yourself better and those that you work or live with. I, do, however, want each of you to share your impressions. What have you learned? How might you use the ACES study to work with clients? What ACEs/PCEs do you have? […]

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  91. […] “Felitti’s peers were extremely skeptical of his observations, but Felitti was sure he was on to something important. He conducted a large-scale study on the impact of childhood abuse, and, later, other adverse childhood experiences,” she continued. “He found that [ACEs] were correlated with a range of negative outcomes in adulthood — outcomes related to physical health, mental health, and psychosocial well-being.” If you’re interested in your own ACEs score, be sure to check it out right here. […]

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  92. […] “Felitti’s friends have been extraordinarily skeptical of his observations, however Felitti was positive he was on to one thing vital. He performed a large-scale examine on the impression of childhood abuse, and, later, different hostile childhood experiences,” she continued. “He discovered that [ACEs] have been correlated with a variety of destructive outcomes in maturity — outcomes associated to bodily well being, psychological well being, and psychosocial well-being.” In case you’re serious about your individual ACEs rating, make sure you test it out proper right here. […]

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  95. Wow eye opening!!!! Was trying to find out if I had ptsd (my pyschiatryst says I don’t have it) I think I do!! I now know for sure my aces(alot) has affected and traumatic life events I’ve experienced account for a huge amount of my problems! My loved ones (sister,family,friends) thinking i just have addiction to drugs and alcohol!!! They get mad at me cause I won’t grow up and just quit. Act like an adult,I would love nothing more if I could. They wouldn’t listen to “my excuses” when I told them it’s not an addiction to substance that causes people to abuse a substance! We abuse the substance cause of underlying issues from past experiences that weren’t processed/treated properly.
    I’m so glad I came across this info, now I have hope!!!

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  112. […] A recent study determined that childhood trauma and genetically inherited trauma contribute to a higher risk of obesity. Trauma contributes to many other health conditions, such as heart disease and a shorter life span. ACEs provide a baseline understanding of important medical risks, and arming yourself with your score and the reality of increased health risks is an important component of self-care. Don’t know your ACEs score? Take the simple quiz here. […]

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  118. The stats are informative, I do have experience of dealing with adults who have revealed childhood problems with parents and other adults who now are heavy smokers, drinkers, drug users, usually these children were not fed properly or had no attention from adults in, were in general deprived, and now they have health problems such as heart problems, dental, liver, COPD and asthma etc so it does all add up in the end.

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  119. […] If the victim is unable to “fall apart”, they will simply stuff the pain, for as long as they can before it erupts in disease of some kind. One way or another, the pain will come out because the pain was too great to not take a toll. That’s why victims of abuse are at greater risk for health issues later.  There are many studies that have been done that show a direct correlation between abuse and greater incidence of health problems and even early death, especially for children who score high on the ACE questionnaire. ACE stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences and describes the experiences that can deeply impact a child for life – such as abuse, to them or their parent, abandonment, drug use by parents, neglect, mental illness in a parent, etc. For more, see this page, or the associated links to the CDC study contained here: https://acestoohigh.com/got-your-ace-score/ […]

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  121. […] The ACE Study found that the higher someone’s ACE score – the more types of childhood adversity a person experienced – the higher their risk of chronic disease, mental illness, violence, being a victim of violence and a bunch of other consequences. The study found that most people (64%) have at least one ACE; 12% of the population has an ACE score of 4. Having an ACE score of 4 nearly doubles the risk of heart disease and cancer. It increases the likelihood of becoming an alcoholic by 700 percent and the risk of attempted suicide by 1200 percent. (For more information, go to ACEs Science 101. To calculate your ACE and resilience scores, go to: Got Your ACE Score?) […]

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  122. I got a 5 on the ACE score and a big fat zero on the PCE’s – I guess having a rare chronic condition (Addison’s Disease) caused by autoimmune disease is now understandable, as is the hypothyroidism, the severe clinical depression, the Asthma the type 2 diabetes, then high blood pressure, the obesity, and hypertension. Yay, go me.

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    • 8 on the ACE score, 3 on the PCE. I have asthma, allergies, arthritis, hypothyroidism, sleep apnea, depression. Cheers!

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      • Lyn, One thing I keep hearing … consistently and from various sources… is that your ACE score does not have to define who you are and how you live. Knowing your ACE score is one thing. Choosing to live a particular way, perhaps in spite of your ACE score is another. If possible, make healthy choice s (even now!) to counteract that ACE score. I recognize that not everyone’s circumstances (financially, employment, retirement, social environment, family connections, etc.) support or even recognize healthier choices. But, you do have self-appointed agency to take one step in one direction. Perhaps the second step will be a little easier.

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      • Ace score 8 pce score1
        I don’t go to the Dr so I can’t say but I feel like I’m sick all the time and I live in a really dark place in my head. I often hope for death.

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  123. Though it may be clinically labelled as some other disorder, I have a self-diagnosed condition involving ACE trauma, ASD and high sensitivity — which I freely refer to as a perfect storm of train wrecks. It’s one with which I greatly struggle(d) while unaware, until I was a half-century old, that its component dysfunctions had official names.

    When around their neurotypical peers, young people with ASD typically feel compelled to “camouflage” or “mask”, terms used to describe their attempts at appearing to naturally fit in when around their neurotypical peers, an effort known to cause their already high anxiety and/or depression levels to worsen. And, of course, this exacerbation is reflected in the disproportionately high rate of suicide among ASD people.

    I still cannot afford to have a formal diagnosis made on my condition, due to having to pay for a specialized shrink, in our (Canada’s) supposedly universal health-care system. Within that system, there are important health treatments that are universally inaccessible, except for those with a bunch of extra money. … If one has diagnosed and treated such a formidable condition when one is very young, he/she will likely be much better able to deal with it through life.

    Nonetheless, my experience has revealed to me that high-scoring adverse childhood experience trauma that essentially results from a highly sensitive introverted existence notably exacerbated by an accompanying autism spectrum disorder, can readily lead an adolescent to a substance-abuse/self-medicating disorder, including through eating. Though I’ve not been personally affected by the addiction/overdose crisis, I have suffered enough unrelenting ACE-related hyper-anxiety to have known and enjoyed the euphoric release upon consuming alcohol and/or THC. The self-medicating method I utilized during most of my pre-teen years, however, was eating.

    I also now know that my brain basically uncontrollably releases potentially damaging levels of inflammatory stress hormones and chemicals, even in non-stressful daily routines. It’s like a discomforting anticipation of ‘the other shoe dropping’ and simultaneously being scared of how badly I will deal with the upsetting event, which usually never transpires. It is like a form of brain damage.

    Perhaps not surprising, I’d like to see child-development science curriculum implemented for secondary high school students, which could also include neurodiversity, albeit not overly complicated. If nothing else, the curriculum would offer students an idea/clue as to whether they’re emotionally/mentally compatible with the immense responsibility and strains of parenthood. … Really, the best gift a child can receive is a healthy, properly functioning brain thus mind for life.

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    • For one thing, our standard educators need to be further educated on Autism Spectrum Disorder, especially when it comes to preventing the abuse of autistic students by their neurotypical peers and teachers alike.

      I feel that not only should all school teachers receive mandatory ASD training, there should also be an inclusion in standard high school curriculum of child-development science that would also teach students about the often-debilitating condition (without being overly complicated). If nothing else, the curriculum would offer students an idea/clue as to whether they themselves are emotionally/mentally compatible with the immense responsibility and strains of regular, non-ASD-child parenthood.

      It would explain to students how, among other aspects of the condition, people with ASD (including those with higher functioning autism) are often deemed willfully ‘difficult’ and socially incongruent, when in fact such behavior is really not a choice. And how “camouflaging” or “masking,” terms used to describe ASD people pretending to naturally fit into a socially ‘normal’ environment, causes their already high anxiety and depression levels to further increase. Of course, this exacerbation is reflected in the disproportionately high rate of suicide among ASD people.

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  124. This unit is very interesting it tells me about a lot of complex issues that a lot of people don’t think about when working with residential young people.

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  125. Could my child’s acute anxiety and Tourette’s be a function of ACE? The fact that she is a difficult teen with teen brain makes it hard to help and hard to unpick whether the pre verbal traumas are part accountable, or whether it’s just being a teen. She was traumatised aged 2 by her birth parents and being removed from them although they were loving.

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    • Hi, Monica: It could be. As Bessel van der Kolk says in his book, The Body Keeps the Score, a traumatic childhood gets into our body’s systems and shows up in different ways. If you haven’t read it, it might be helpful.

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    • OK, this reply is long because this is my work in life. To try and say this to any parent who will listen. First thing to do in your situation is try to take yourself out of it a bit and observe your behavior from the outside: Is there anything that might make her feel as if she can’t trust you to validate her feelings, help her or meet her needs? Be gentle to yourself! Maybe it’s purely situational. A kid can feel that when their household does’t have enough food, no matter how hard the parent may be trying to provide for their kids. Maybe it’s something you’ve said with one intention that was interpreted differently in her mind. She probably couldn’t even name it, but she needs your help to figure it out.

      Even if what you find is a problem with your own behavior, it doesn’t mean you are bad or that you intended harm or even that you did anything wrong per se. Sometimes we do harm without meaning to, and sometimes kids just don’t have a full understanding of interpersonal communication! Kids can’t physically protect themselves from an adult with ill will, so their brains have some extra sensitive failsafes. A child may internalize an idea that an adult never intended. All we can do is figure it out as soon as possible, stop, and try to make it right. We all make mistakes and it’s the only way to make amends for something we can’t take back. Again, it’s also totally possible this is rooted totally outside of your relationship with her.

      I really wish my mom could have done this, just took herself out of the picture long enough to realize that people don’t generally act out for no reason! They REact because of something. If we could have gotten to the bottom of it, it would have saved me a LOT of self harm and very serious hospitalizations. I have to believe she would have acted to stop the torrent of abuse I was receiving at that time from family, strangers, abuse of all sorts. I’m sure you would help if something was wrong in your kid’s life.

      Here’s a concrete example from my life. My ACEs score is 7, so I was reacting to a lot when I was a “difficult teen.” My mom thought I was a “difficult teen” even though I was 10 years old when my anger became too big to hide. Just 10. But what her brain could handle is looking back at that time and believing her kid was just being normally reactive for her age. Remembering it that way protects her from guilt and her own trauma. Otherwise she might have to think that she lived through trauma and then allowed it to happen to her own daughter. That’s so hard. She can’t even describe her own trauma as trauma. It can be hard to even admit you were harmed in the past. Her kid brain learned some ways to deal with trauma that didn’t serve her so well when she became a parent. She couldn’t face it and move forward to a place where she could look at her own behavior clearly. I feel so bad for her. Yet, at the time, I was so angry that I was trapped in situations that were seriously damaging me and no adult was stopping it. When you’re little, maybe that’s the only way you can understand it. It profoundly changed how I felt about all humankind. The world became a dark place.

      When I was angry, she made a habit of making fun of me. To her, it was some ribbing that would hopefully show me how silly I was acting for “no reason.” Her intentions were good and to her, how she handled it seemed innocuous. But it taught me that even if I desperately needed help from my parent, I would just be ridiculed for asking. She would pile abuse on top of abuse. Why would I put myself through that? She would surely have helped if she had known! I bet you would, too. But I had already been harmed so much that my brain developed stricter screening methods when anticipating the actions of adults. Our brains are built to protect us from things like this. A suspicious child may manage to avoid additional harm to her body. It was safer for my brain to assume we couldn’t trust my mom anymore, with so much lived experience showing that adults are totally willing to hurt kids. And even now, with the danger decades in the past, I still can’t trust properly and struggle to maintain healthy relationships.

      It’s good to remember that trauma doesn’t just change abstract behavior, it changes how a child’s brain is structured and “wired.” I know you don’t want your kid to live out her life feeling alienated from the world. What’s happening to her also may not be a life-altering big deal. If you broke your arm, the best time to get it treated would always be ASAP. Better to address things before they’re big. So I’d gently suggest that you try to be brave and figure out what your kid is reacting to, just in case, even if it’s messy and so difficult for you to do and even if you feel bad or defensive. All we can do is be better. I wish my mom had tried. I wish she could have done the work as the adult in the situation instead of leaving me to figure it out before it kills me.

      Just keep in mind that the problem at hand could simply be any need that one or both of you aren’t aware of. It only has to feel important to your kid for it to cause problems. It doesn’t mean you are bad, just that she doesn’t feel like she is safe/protected/has needs met/whatever the case may be, no matter how big or small it may seem to you.

      Also, it is a harrowing read, but I second the recommendation for reading The Body Keeps the Score. It saved my life.

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  127. Knowing my ace score is Extremely helpful to helping me develop a plan of action for myself as I do not want to live like this I have survived for almost 50 years experiencing the trauma that I’ve experienced!

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  136. I scored 10 on ACEs, 1 on Resilience. Was recently diagnosed with CPTSD. I struggle everyday with panic attacks. I smoke wayyy too many cigarettes, but I can’t stop.

    I used to self harm a lot, and always wondered why I stopped. Well I figured it out the last time I attempted to quit smoking. I picked up one vice for the next.

    Feels good to be heard in therapy, finally. Hoping my therapist can save me, because a lot of the time I worry that if this doesn’t work this time, I doubt anything will be able to help me.

    I will say that I’m lucky in the regard that I am very good at my job, and often get complimented by upper management on how I am at the top performance-wise. They tell me I’m the best worker they have, however my downfall is that I miss work a lot. Somedays it hurts to move or to even form a coherent thought. It’s like I’m falling apart and breaking down on the inside, but the outside appears to be sunshine and daisies to everyone else. I wish I could see a fraction of what they see in me. I wish I could believe that I was worth something, but how- I can’t even muster up the energy to get out of bed most of the time. It’s hard to see worth there, when I’m not really contributing to society.

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  139. This was an eye opener. I didn’t realize all the things listed could cause trauma. I know of the biggies, but wouldn’t have guessed some of the lesser things.

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  140. i was the love child of 2 irresponsible teenagers running from there own abusive lives and created a world of destruction and made 4 souls lives a prisiom of fear and control through cruel manipulation emotion head games ,
    my parents were narcissistic/ psychotic self absorbed piers who used their children to fulfill their empty souls ,con-artists, drug addicts , resists hate mungers ,swingers heroine dealers , i was abused physically mentally sexually as a toddler, child preteen and teen , we moved homes 20 times before high school, i never had any close friends or meaningful relationships the first 14 years if my life .i finally ran away after my mother tried to rape one night and i pushed her off and she attacked me , i fought her off , for the 1st time in my entire life .i jumped out of my bedroom window .6 months later i got s job cooking at a hotel.
    i rmoved into a shit hotel room for the next 2 years just surviving .
    i am the oldest boy of 4,kids
    i couldn’t protect myself my siblings or escape the beatings then soothing apology’s followed by sexual touching from my mother. my father was in and out of jail, he had a heroine addiction from 19 years old till he died at 42 years old , i was 17.
    it was push and pull my whole life ,
    i was taught to lie steal cheat to hate others to to take as much as i could from others , never contributing or knowing what true love was
    we were in constant survival mode,
    my personality split and i was told to just deal with it.
    at 20 i had a spiritual awaking through the top of my head and a month later i met the 21 year old university student who would later move me into her doarm room , she brought me home and 5 years later married a broken adult, i repressed all my abuse
    .i repressed my dark life and attempted to live life as i saw through her family’s eyes .
    i failed miserably at knowing myself or what love was i just felt i my now wife had known me beyond this life, she loved me and shown me a kindness that i had never know
    how could i tell her the darkest times of my life
    i had lived a life of hating myself for 15 years until i had my son at 34 and daughter at 36
    i was addicted to everything my doctor would prescribe me
    i was sick with multiple major problems
    non mental .
    i was someone who hid my dark past for another 6 years until i couldn’t look in the mirror at myself
    i was trying to kill myself
    ended up in jail for printing prescription for years , cheated
    stolen arrested
    reckless driving
    shooting up
    left my family for days on end
    i was never home
    i was my parents …..
    i attempted suicide for the 3rd time
    1st time anyone had known about anything that had happened in my life
    it was hidden from everyone
    how bad it really was.
    a dark family secret
    my grandma and grandpa were millionaires and knew about it all
    anytime something happened they cleaned it up and paid the lawyers and moved us
    they were ashamed .
    i’m 46 today, married 25 years and i know who i am finally.
    i am loved
    i am love
    i am working on my best self
    i’m therapy for everything i can handle a little at a time .
    working on marriage counseling.
    in drug rehabilitation outpatient 6 years .
    MY children tell me i’m the Best dad in the world and i know it .
    i don’t speak to my mother and never will again
    grandparents left me enough money to give my family a home that will never move again .
    i’m a broken man glued together with love and today is hard , but i’m okay
    i’m safe .
    i’m happy

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  145. I learned a bit more about myself, but it’s hard to not feel like my situations aren’t real when other people tell me differently.

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  146. I scored a 10 and I’m very interested in learning more. I try very hard to function as “normal” but it’s work.

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  147. Thank you for this video, well detailed and elaborated on what causes/triggers of trauma could be, and also understanding how to work with people suffering from it, just like most of us going through one thing or the other. Thanking you once gain

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  153. I’m a 5 on this list. My mother took her own life when I was 14, I think. I have blocked this horrific event so well that I can’t remember when it happened. I remember a month after it happened, I had a very sad birthday celebration with an empty chair (Moms) at the dinner table and I wore a sign that said “Be nice to me- it’s my birthday.” The loss of my mother affected the rest of my life, but I didn’t know how or why until now. All of my offspring are struggling (along with me) and I thought it was because I was a bad mother. I am still trying to understand how my mom could leave behind 5 children. Thank you for helping me make sense of something that has haunted me for 50 years. I have forwarded this article to my siblings, children and grandchildren. At least there is still hope that we can fix this before another generation of my family is lost to addiction and mental illness. ❤️

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  154. I’m a 9 on ACES.
    CPTSD… dissociate… Disorganized Attachment that leans towards Avoidant.
    Raised 3 children by studying, learning and seeking help in order to offer them a sense of security, safety and unconditional love and respect. I now need to learn how to feel safe and trusting with men. I would like to consider having an adult relationship based on compatibility and mutual respect. I need help because I know nothing about healthy, sustainable relationships with men. Very difficult finding experienced therapists who work with Attachment disorders, CPTSD, dissociation, etc. Even harder to find a competent therapist who accepts insurance. And… let’s be real…a maximum of 6-10 visits a year is a mere drop in the bucket. It takes 6-10 visits to just share my biography. Very frustrating and sometimes kinda hopeless feeling. Attachment Therapy requires a sustained relationship with an experienced, and preferably trained, trustworthy person in order to develop new attachment areas in the brain. Not a simple fix. Plus, CPTSD is not even recognized in the DSM. I did my best to break the cycle for my children and now would like to learn how to find some peaceful and satisfying opportunities to bond with adults (not trauma-bond). At this point, I stay away from meeting new people because I am very aware of my lack of healthy relationship skills. Where is affordable, accessible help for adults who are ready to retrain their brains towards healthier and maybe happier lifestyles?

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  162. it was very laid out ant easy to focus on what was said, presentations were easy to understand most encouraging in my daily job and life

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  171. My score is only 5, but first of all a lot was repeatedly. And another lots of things are not listed. Plus I was born severely premature and not given much of a chance to survive. As an unborn I already had to fight… not just one thing but two: Rhesus factor and Rubella. Rubella affected my heading and damaged my retina( but I can see).
    But it didn’t end there…went through lots more throughout my life. Many say it’s a miracle that I never got into drugs or alcohol !

    But I have some autistic traits, challenging to be around people. Many other interpersonal issues….

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  175. I am very lucky I was a happy child and I had a great childhood. Thank you for such interesting information. This is really useful and powerful for everyone.

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  179. The Adverse Child Experience chart is an interesting tool to measure childhood trauma. I had no idea how far reaching those experiences were and how they affected not only mental health but physical health as well.

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  180. @acestoohigh – This is some very interesting information and research and I like the tests that can be used as a guide to help people analyze trauma responses in themselves and others. The only critique I have is the defensive tone used in explanation of the selected participants of the study. If RACE is not an issue or factor, then there is no need to defend that position. You could have used the academic writing style of a research report (research report: an explanation of a research project, usually divided into subsections such as abstract, introduction, methods, results, etc.) to explain the participants, their ethnicity, race, social background, financial status etc. and also the limitations of the study based on the number of persons interviewed and the demographic restrictions of the group surveyed. Lines such as these could have been excluded:

    “And so the notion was that it was inner-city people of color who experienced abuse, neglect, etc., not white middle-class or white upper-class people….that somehow white people of means were immune from the kinds of problems affecting people who were poor. That’s not only ridiculous, but it was just another way to perpetrate racism and classism”.

    As a student of psychology with an interest in trauma studies, this blog has given me much insight into many factors affecting persons experiencing PTSD and other trauma-related issues. So thank you for the great insights provided!

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  188. I’m a 7 on the ACE and a 2 on PCEs. Reading these comments has shown me that a lot of people have had it worse, yet still hope for and fight for a good life. I tell you, this has helped me feel forgiveness for my own failings and a better understanding of why I’ve made so many poor choices as an adult. One thing really struck me… the idea that I can grieve the childhood I didn’t have. I imagine how it might have been and it’s bittersweet. That poor little kid that was me — she just wanted love, as we all do. Well, I will give it to her now because she was and is a bright light. And I’ll look for that light in every person I see, no matter how dimmed it may appear. Because we all have it. We are all gorgeous beings, unique and worthy. God bless all of you. Keep fighting for the good!

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  191. I am comforted by your comments. In my childhood experience, my younger sister had such horrible mental issues. I didn’t understand that at the time. So my parents focused on helping her, I had to pick up her chores with no explanation on why. I just figured in my childish way that I was the Cinderella in the family. So I don’t think I developed emotionally. My emotions are sometimes uncontrollable. I have had very few good relationships. As you, I’ve been picked on because of my “strangeness “. I so want to be free from my bad thoughts so I can properly serve our Father God. Again thank you.

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    • Im 12 and i have an aces score of 3 all because of my dad he is so mean but im afraid to tell anyone ells. he is a narcissist and does not under stand that what he is doing is wrong.

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      • You are self aware. You must love yourself. You are worth loving. Your father is damaged and damaging.

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      • Lilly, I think you need to talk to someone to help you so I am going to give you some hotlines that you can call or live chat: first there is CARDV 1-541-754-0110. They are in Oregon and are open 24-7. Livechat is not 24-7 but calling is. Livechat is open 10 am – 4 pm Pacific time Mon – Fri in Oregon. They also have an email address. info@cardv.org I have a score of 10 and they help me out a ton! The women are my favorite. If you get a guy you can be asked to be transferred to a woman. They just listen to you talk and they say kind words to you when you are done talking. Don’t be afraid; they are all trained in this. Helping people with bad experiences to get healing and recovery. ❤ The website is https://cardv.org. Because you are 12, you may be able to get help from the missing and exploited children's hotline. That is if your dad is beating you or raping you, because that is exploitation. 1-800-843-5678. If he is bringing other adults over and collecting money from them to rape you like how my mom did to me, that is a type of slavery and you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline to get help from the FBI: 1-888-373-7888. If the FBI agent who comes to rescue you starts screaming about hating his job and says that he wants to shoot you, like he did to me, please open the door and get far away from the door and the agent and ask him to leave. Then he will leave without shooting you (but also he will not rescue you.) If you have marks of abuse on your body and skin cells of abusers under your fingernails, you can call who ever in your county works for Child Protective Services. Just type in the name of your county into Google followed by the words Child Protective Services. If you do not know what your county is, just type into Google, "What is the county for (your city's name)?" You can try talking to your school counselor for help, but they may or may not help you. I hope this helps you. I only know the resources for you in the USA. But they have similar resources in other countries to help women and children. Just google for them. Type in "child protection" and your country. Lots of nonprofits and maybe some government organizations will show up.

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  192. These studies are only regarding people with and ACE score of 1-4. I have an ACE score of nine. I’d like to know what you’ve found out about people like me.

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  194. I have a ACE score of 7 ish. And my PCE’s are generally mixed with bad, I have very few purely good memories. I grew up in a cult and was homeschooled, so very few outside influences for the first 13 years of my life. The cult had its own music, videos, children’s tv productions, novels and “literature”. We had a completely rigid schedule and very little parental input that was positive. I am currently on a waiting list to be seen by a physiologist and hopefully start to learn move resilience and coping skills. I have kids of my own now and if terrifies me every day that I may become even a fraction of what my parents and other adults around us were like.

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    • I’m so sorry for your suffering. Something that has helped me is the website called “The Crappy Childhood Fairy,” where there are lots of videos for recovery from childhood trauma. These videos also are on YouTube. Best wishes to you!

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  205. I feel this is affected by where you live, places change which affects the parenting and their capabilities. Some of the questions I needed to put (1/2 half) as it only applied to one side of the parenting structure. My scores were not great which I expected. I feel this test needs more work done on it please, like investigating parenting styles not just their abuse techniques. My father was a very intelligent Narcissistic Sociopath who could get around a majority of this test even with me taking it, he had control of me, luckily he has lost control of me now however taken a couple of years ago I’d of slipped through as everything ok on my score. I’m not moaning I want to help upgrade things if possible. Maybe you have enough for what you need to grade, however, I could give you at least 3 times more. I now have Autoummine issues and other troubles as part of the aftermath. Trauma being the wound, I’m trying to recover from. Gabor’s work is what led me here as it has been the best I’ve found in 23 years. Great work on the test so far and all the work as it’s all moving forward and improving things, hopefully. Good luck and thanks for putting the effort in for us. I appreciate it. If you need any Narssicistic Abuse input please contact me, years abused and years studying it. Thank’s Again. Rob

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  207. […] Nismo svi isti i ne reagiramo svi jednako na negativne okolnosti. Reakcija ovisi o psiho-fizičkoj konstituciji i o količini stresa koji nosimo (u sebi) u startu. Dijelom ,… odgovor o stalnom stresu koji nosite (u sebi, u srcu, u kostima, u mišićima…), možete dobiti ovdje. […]

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  211. […] Know Your ACE Score:  The Adverse Childhood Study is one of the largest studies ever made on this topic. Therapists of all backgrounds use it to establish the impact of childhood trauma. I have noticed it helps my clients have compassion for themselves. It is a quick and helpful guide. The ten measures do not tell the WHOLE story of your life but they do indicate the depth of your childhood wounds. Please know your score by clicking here on ACE Score. […]

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  214. My own experience has revealed that notable adverse childhood experience trauma resulting from a highly sensitive and low self-confidence existence — especially when its effect is amplified by an accompanying autism spectrum disorder — can readily lead an adolescent to a substance (ab)use disorder. This, of course, can also lead to an adulthood of debilitating self-medicating. As a highly sensitive child, teenager and adult with ASD — an official condition with which I greatly struggled yet of which I was not even aware until I was a half-century old — compounded by a high ACE score, I largely learned this for myself from my own substance (ab)use experience. The self-medicating method I utilized during most of my pre-teen years, however, was eating.

    Autism spectrum disorder accompanied by adverse childhood experience trauma — unchecked chronic bullying, for example — can readily lead to chronic substance abuse as a form of self-medicating. If the ASD adolescent is also highly sensitive, both the drug-induced euphoria and, conversely, the come-down effect or return to their burdensome reality will be heightened thus making the substance-use more addicting.

    Since so much of our mental health comes from our childhood experiences, mental health-care should generate as much societal concern — and government funding — as does physical health, even though psychological illness/dysfunction typically is not immediately visually observable. I would also like to see child-development science curriculum implemented for secondary high school students, and it would also include neurodiversity, albeit not overly complicated. It would be mandatory course material, however, and considerably more detailed than what’s already covered by home economics, etcetera, curriculum: e.g. diaper changing, baby feeding and so forth. I don’t think the latter is anywhere near sufficient (at least not how I experienced it) when it comes to the proper development of a child’s mind.

    For one thing, the curriculum could/would make available to students potentially valuable/useful knowledge about their own psyches and why they are the way they are. And besides their own nature, students can also learn about the natures of their peers, which might foster greater tolerance for atypical personalities. If nothing else, the curriculum could offer students an idea/clue as to whether they’re emotionally suited for the immense responsibility and strains of parenthood.

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  219. Great article! Many of us don’t realize until we are adults the effects trauma has had on our health. I score 6 out of 10. My own auto immune disorder led me to do my own research on this subject and my career in functional nutrition to help others like me who have auto immune disorders and trauma. I really appreciated the fact you included the PCE’s, a lot of articles don’t include that.

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  220. I’d love to speak to someone about my ACE score and get an experts perspective on the way my life has panned out, is this possible??

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  227. Wow.. I scored a 3 on the Ace and about a 4 on the resilience. But I had a very supportive mom and sisters. There were crazy events that took place when I was younger, but I never used drugs or drank more than occasionally. There was some early inappropriate sexual behavior as a result of childhood molestation. I will share this information with my friends and family so we can get a better understanding of ourselves and our children.

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  230. Funny how this is skewed. Its assumed the man is violent. The survey is inherently sexist. All of the violence was started by a vicious step mother, who married my father, after my real mother a drunk and druggie, just left when I was 4.
    The new step monster was their to rob him blind and nothing else. I was hit with bats, belts, pans, once a turkey, bottles, plates, I had multiple bones broken, was stabbed with scissors, a kitchen knife, fork, was burned, got raped with a wine bottle and she then smashed on my head, stitches, I was intentionally starved, intentionally sleep deprived, and used as slave labor.

    My stepmother was a monster. I got a 10 score. 2 at bottom.
    I wish I had killed her. I should have. She definitely deserved it. I still want too.

    She was so crazy, she beat herself up, and called the cops, said my Dad beat her and left. They arrested him on his way home from work. And wouldnt believe me, when I told them what happened.

    I was beaten and starved to the point, I got taken by state. Then, dumped in a bad boys home where I got raped. Again… nobody believed me. Again.

    As an adult.

    I am extremely prone to violence. Not just a little either. If I’m set off. I literally may kill you with my bare hands.
    I have no sympathy or empathy.
    I have maybe 2 friends. They are psychos.
    I cant maintain any relationship, because at the first sign of anger in a woman… I want to kill them in retaliation.
    I have a permanent flinch. If someone is near me, and moves suddenly, I expect to be hit. Ive reacted poorly, numerous times in public. Which is embarrassing.
    Ill never have kids. I wouldnt wish, what I went through, on anyone.

    In the upside… all this quarantine isolation people are complaining about…
    Thats my regular life.

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    • I don’t know how nobody has replied to this. This sounds like the most awful, traumatic childhood experience, and when I read it I just had to tell you that I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve any of that, and yes, that step monster deserves to die a horrible death. Not that me saying that can help or change the past. But I hope you find some comfort knowing that someone has read your story, and spent time thinking about you. I’m training to be a child play therapist and I hope I can somewhat help children have or are experiencing horrific childhoods for whatever reason. Be kind to yourself. I hope you can heal from this past of yours. Good luck 🙂

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    • My mother was also the primary abuser, a lot of what you talk about is the same stuff I went through. I read this and I felt for you. Please try to get help somehow. You don’t have to be what these people tried to make you. Please don’t let them win. That’s what I always thought, as a kid—‘a few more years, just a few more years and I can escape’, and ‘I will never let her beat me or break me’. You are better and you deserve better. Peace, friend.

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    • I am so sorry that your childhood went this way Mike. It is awful. I hope you reach out for support. It may not be easy, but there are many qualified people who can help you through some of your trauma and reflexes. I really think a quality professional who specializes in EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprogramming could really help you get a handle on this. I’m sorry this happened to you and I am a complete stranger who was looking for a particular article and came across your comment. I couldn’t scroll past it. I wanted you to know, I hear you, I believe you and I am glad you are still here. Your simple comment like this is helping people and what an abundance of courage, strength and allowing yourself to be vulnerable. This is what the human experience is all about. So thank you. Don’t give up, keep going.

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    • I just wanted to say I’m so sorry that this has been your life. She is a monster and you have every right to want to kill her, the fact that you haven’t says a lot about how amazing a person you are.

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    • I’m so very, very sorry Mike. I can’t imagine what your suffering must have been like. Please don’t give up on finding healing and a good life, because I believe it’s possible, in spite of everything.

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    • It very obviously states physical assault by women on men multiple times in the article. I don’t think you actually read it. It’s obvious you’re going through something, so I suggest finding a therapist. Don’t bash a very good and informative article for being sexist when it very clearly is not.

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    • My goodness! So sorry to read this. But u know what is brilliant , you a re aware of it. Et least…. I scored 5 on ace… am in therapy , still struggle but better than not ho have nothing.

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    • I hope you can be brave to find some help. I’m sorry you had to go through such a terrible time as a child. And that you’re still suffering, that’s sucks.. and it makes sense considering your trauma. It’s possible to heal, and you’re worth it.

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    • My belief is that we often do to ourselves what our parents or caregivers did to us. I am so sorry that you had to grow up with such a monster. I grew up with a monster too. We may not get rid of all our symptoms – ever, but we might be able to negotiate them, come to terms with them, as it were, and learn to live a more full rich life. It is scary to begin to learn new ways of treating yourself. Sounds like you are incarcerating yourself as a way to keep you and others safe. That sounds to me like thoughtfulness, having a sense of responsibility, and insightful about how behavior affects others. It might be worth it to take a step or two toward getting yourself out of self imposed jail time. My heart is with you.

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    • I’m sorry you went through all of that.
      I wish you only the best in life. Is there any way you could start listening to meditation music or positive affirmations? I believe you!

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    • Hey Mike, I never write comments on forums but I wanted to say, I hear you and am sorry you went through that. Thank you for being so brave in sharing your story and speaking your truth despite not feeling heard in the past. You have incredible self awareness about yourself and understand why you exhibit certain thoughts and behaviours – I have yet to come across a “violent” person who is self aware and looking into healing, like yourself. This speaks volumes about your soul and true nature underneath it all. There is light and goodness in you, I sense it and know you can re-train your nervous system, heal from trauma, feel safe in your body, and live and love freely.

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    • Hello Mike. I have a score of 10 too, because my mom trafficked me to a whole lot of other violent psychos like herself starting at my birth and it went on for 30 years and I’m only in my late 30s now. She and they all raped me which she got paid for, and did most of the things you’re describing here, despite everyone telling me that because she is my biological mother I should love her and I am a liar. I just want to tell you that despite that bloody torture from her, my other relatives, and the pedophiles who paid my mom to torture me and try to kill me, I have started to heal, and that healing is possible.

      Some things I have done to heal include:

      1. Becoming a Christian and going regularly to Life Church Online. http://www.live.life.church Praying a LOT with any Christian I can find or the Crossroads 24-7 prayer hotline if I can’t find anyone to pray with 1-866-273-4444. They do not preach, I just say what is troubling me and then they pray over me and I listen and sometimes I pray for me too. It’s only 5 minutes and has a 15 minute wait time but it makes me feel a lot better. I can pray with Life Church in the chat room. Life Church chat room is open from 7 am – 11 pm every single day and is moderated by hosts that keep away the trolls.

      2. Talking a lot to this domestic violence hotline called CARDV. They have men and women working there 24-7 and they believe you when you talk about rape and even when you talk about cannibalism (I also had to deal with them drinking my blood because they are big into the occult/Satan/witchcraft…but no one I told to try to rescue me ever believed me about the cannibalism.) Anyway CARDV has no problems believing my experiences no matter how strange they seem to other people. So they would believe you. The hotline is 1-541-754-0110. It is based in Oregon. http://www.cardv.org

      3. Becoming a vegan (actually a lot of health problems are created from eating meat especially from all the hormones they inject cows with and part of your rage is coming from excessive amounts of stress hormones/overworked adrenals, etc.)

      4. Learning a lot about vitamins and supplements and taking what I need to balance my hormones and heal my mind and my body. You really need to start taking a probiotic for your health. It is essential.

      5. Yoga to increase calm and flexibility. Hopefully I will start Qi Gong soon.

      6. Get a trauma informed primary care doctor (still working on that one).

      7. Seeing a chiropractor because all the beatings I survived made my bones slide out of place easily when they were not broken. So now they just move around and get sorta dislocated but not completely (just twisted around and stuck) because I have hyper mobility due to my bones constantly getting dislocated by abusers. So I am going to an Activator trained chiropractor to reset my bones to help my body know exactly where my bones are supposed to be in relation to my muscles. I also give myself plenty of massages and I like to use safflower oil and peppermint oil. 🙂
      https://doc.activator.com

      8. Journalling about all of my nightmares and all of my flashbacks that I have day and night.

      9. In progress: Looking to get 2 years of EMDR treatment to reduce or eliminate my psychogenic seizures caused by PTSD. It’s been clinically proven to work.

      10. Singing and dancing to increase my endorphins and help me process the torture by singing about it. I also sing about wanting to kill some of the abusers with my bare hands or weapons which helps me not actually do it. So musical theater is really helpful. Just pretend your life is a musical. Helps me cope.

      11. Spending a LOT of time in nature doing Sit Spots, just walking around. Try reading the book Sit Spots and the Art of Inner Tracking by Trotta. I am in progress of learning nature therapy and it’s part of my masters thesis actually. 🙂 Check out the Japanese research into Forest Bathing and Nature Therapy. 🙂 It’s in English. https://www.natureandforesttherapy.earth

      12. Read The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk because it’s super helpful.

      I hope this helps you, Mike, and God bless you. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  234. The resilience assessment doesn’t take into account partial answers or other scenarios.

    “When I was a child, there were relatives in my family who made me feel better if I was sad or worried.” “When I felt really bad, I could almost always find someone I trusted to talk to.” Well, what if those could be answered in the affirmative only up to a certain point in time and, then, that person became no longer involved?

    “When I was a child, teachers, coaches, youth leaders or ministers were there to help me.” What is that was up until a certain point, then a child became home schooled and isolated?

    “We had rules in our house and were expected to keep them.” What about if the rules were irrational, geared around the rule-maker’s mental illness?

    These can’t always be answered in terms of definitely true, probably true, not sure, probably not true, or definitely not true….

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  239. […] Nismo svi isti i ne reagiramo svi jednako na negativne okolnosti. Reakcija ovisi o psiho-fizičkoj konstituciji i o količini stresa koji nosimo (u sebi) u startu. Dijelom, odgovor o stalnom stresu koji nosite (u sebi, u srcu, u kostima, u mišićima…), možete dobiti ovdje. […]

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  241. It’s not always the mother who os beeing treated violently. I come from a household where my mother throw things on my dad or hit him and shout at him.
    And my dad loved her so he let her, even though it hurt him.
    Not only woman are victims of violence. They can also be violent against others.

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  242. This information is very interesting to me. I am a licensing foster care provider. When completing the survey and questionnaire, I answered the questions for myself but also for the little child in my care. It was eye opening to see how opposite we were in the scoring. Our life experiences are so different. Having her in my life has opened my eyes to many things.

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  243. I have an ACE score of at least 4, but I can’t remember a lot of things or concentrate or think of things related to the questions answers. I couldn’t answer the resilience test either because of my lack of memories. I’m only sixteen and idk what to do or think. I want to go to a therapist and have been wanting to for a year or two (or maybe even longer, but I can’t even remember that either), but know my family couldn’t afford it and that even if I wanted to, can’t bring anything up since my family would get in trouble and my brother and I could be potentially taken away since we’re still minors. I think I have childhood trauma, but can’t tell if it’s real or not because it’s hard for me to recollect anything that could help me find this information out. If you’re reading this, can you help me?

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    • I know of a hotline you can try to call in Oregon to talk about your trauma and discuss safety plans. It is open 24-7 by phone and the number is 1-541-754-0110. They are called CARDV, and they also have a live chat open on their website https://cardv.org/contact/ You can ask for a woman or a man to talk to anonymously although I think mostly women work there. It’s not therapy but they are all trained in trauma and they seem to have all been through their own trauma. I do not think they are involved in taking anyone away and are not mandated reporters.

      I was never taken away from my abusive home even when I did meet up with the child protective services (CPS) of the states where I was abused, so they don’t always take people away. That is usually their last resort. For me, they generally ignored me even though I got an ACE score of 10 out of 10 but they got me a reduced lunch through reduced cost lunch program for poor people.

      You may consider talking to your school counselor. They might have ideas. Some counselors can offer you training to help you cope with family issues. Sometimes CPS can require parents to take classes but they don’t take the kids away, or they only take them temporarily until they pass their parenting classes. IDK they never did that with me. Because no one cared. 😦 God cared and kept me alive.

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  246. […] Got Your ACE Score? What’s Your ACE Score? (and, at the end, What’s Your Resilience Score?) There are 10 types of childhood trauma measured in the ACE Study. Five are personal — physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect. Five are related to other family members: a parent who’s an alcoholic, a mother who’s a… […]

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  247. I scored a 7 ACE and 4 on resilience.. i have chronic anxiety, struggle keeping a good attendance at work but i work very hard. I have chronic back pain, scoliosis, and severe depression. I have issues with my emotions.. mostly easily crying infront of authorities or bosses. I snap/ have a short temper.. my therapist thinks this is becuase of the abusive past with my family. I am looking into the PTSD of childhood trauma.. i feel like my body is storing so many past memories and bad dark emotions that are slowly poisioning my subconscious.

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  249. I scored a 5. My wife shared this with me and it gives me something to think about and more so, it is actually kind of comforting to know where all this crap comes from. No surprise I scored a 5 as growing up with an alcoholic mother and a schizophrenic father. Blessings to you all wherever you are on your journey.

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  251. 8 ACE
    4 resilience

    No arrests, no substance problems, no addictions, highly successful medical professional.

    Go figure.

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  252. I got 5 on aces, and the resilience I got 0. What does this mean. I have extreme anxiety and panic attacks. This last 5 yrs. its been hard. My step-father passed quickly and I had to take over my Mothers affairs. And its hard to pay and run her trust.

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  258. On the ACE quiz I got 8 and I’m still a very young teen that kinda worries me I have smoked and done alchohal and lost my virginity so yeah I’m fawked up that’s a great life there Christ I think I need help. Bye hoomans I hope u have a better life then me.☺️🥲

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  261. The test I took was too general. In every case, there are extenuating circumstances. The test should be updated for better results. Irregardless, I knew at a young age that my family was different than the others. And I didn’t realize till I started school, I was different too. I wasn’t told, because I was only 6 years old, that I stuttered. But my mother I recall did do two things for me, weather she did it out of shame or pitty. I could read and write before I went into kindergarten. I remember many tests. So, I was abused at home, I was tortured at school throughout, by my third grade teacher, shame on her. And by the State. ( I wonder if I can sue?)
    My mother was the worst of them all and she is the cause of most of my sorrow. She took advantage of me most of my life. And I suppose I just let alot of it slide outta fear and the realization that I’d never get retribution. Because I tried it once. Yet, today she suffers a debilitating disease and I’m of the opinion that she got what she gave. There was a lifetime of abuse. But I’m happy with the outcome.

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    • You are special, you are loved. You are meant to be here. Jesus loves you. He wants you to come and talk to Him. He chose for you to be here. Not your mother. I had an abusive mother too, who put me through human trafficking and I got an ACE score of 10. I also could read and write before I started kindergarten. I was put in the gifted children’s classes while still being tortured/hit/groped/raped in elementary school by school professionals, teachers, kids, and pedophiles who walked into the school to attack me when I left my classroom to go to the bathroom. Apparently they just walked in and were waiting for me to come out. The teachers did nothing other than scream and cry when I eventually came back covered in blood and barely alive. Boo to Idaho public schools. So we have a few things in common, like us both being gifted children and both being abused children. If you figure out how to sue the public school system, I would love to know.

      In the meantime you can read this https://www.vice.com/en/article/4adk4j/everyones-invited-me-too-private-schools and you can share your story here, if that helps https://www.everyonesinvited.uk (It doesn’t have to be a story of abuse in a school in the UK. Could be a school anywhere. I already shared some of my stories there.) Just feels good to get it off your chest. Therapeutic.

      Anyway I wanted to share with you the resources I compiled for another traumatized person that I met here and I hope they can help you too 🙂

      Some things I have done to heal include:
      1. Becoming a Christian and going regularly to Life Church Online. http://www.live.life.church Praying a LOT with any Christian I can find or the Crossroads 24-7 prayer hotline if I can’t find anyone to pray with 1-866-273-4444. They do not preach, I just say what is troubling me and then they pray over me and I listen and sometimes I pray for me too. It’s only 5 minutes and has a 15 minute wait time but it makes me feel a lot better. I can pray with Life Church in the chat room. Life Church chat room is open from 7 am – 11 pm every single day and is moderated by hosts that keep away the trolls.

      2. Talking a lot to this domestic violence hotline called CARDV. They have men and women working there 24-7 and they believe you when you talk about rape and even when you talk about cannibalism (I also had to deal with them drinking my blood because they are big into the occult/Satan/witchcraft…but no one I told to try to rescue me ever believed me about the cannibalism.) Anyway CARDV has no problems believing my experiences no matter how strange they seem to other people. So they would believe you. The hotline is 1-541-754-0110. It is based in Oregon. http://www.cardv.org

      3. Becoming a vegan (actually a lot of health problems are created from eating meat especially from all the hormones they inject cows with and part of your rage is coming from excessive amounts of stress hormones/overworked adrenals, etc.)

      4. Learning a lot about vitamins and supplements and taking what I need to balance my hormones and heal my mind and my body. You really need to start taking a probiotic for your health. It is essential.

      5. Yoga to increase calm and flexibility. Hopefully I will start Qi Gong soon.

      6. Get a trauma informed primary care doctor (still working on that one).

      7. Seeing a chiropractor because all the beatings I survived made my bones slide out of place easily when they were not broken. So now they just move around and get sorta dislocated but not completely (just twisted around and stuck) because I have hyper mobility due to my bones constantly getting dislocated by abusers. So I am going to an Activator trained chiropractor to reset my bones to help my body know exactly where my bones are supposed to be in relation to my muscles. I also give myself plenty of massages and I like to use safflower oil and peppermint oil mixed together.
      https://doc.activator.com

      8. Journalling about all of my nightmares and all of my flashbacks that I have day and night.

      9. In progress: Looking to get 2 years of EMDR treatment to reduce or eliminate my psychogenic seizures caused by PTSD. It’s been clinically proven to work.

      10. Singing and dancing to increase my endorphins and help me process the torture by singing about it. I also sing about wanting to kill or hurt some of the abusers with my bare hands or weapons which helps me not actually do it. So musical theater is really helpful. Just pretend your life is a musical. Helps me cope.

      11. Spending a LOT of time in nature doing Sit Spots, just walking around. Try reading the book Sit Spots and the Art of Inner Tracking by Trotta. I am in progress of learning nature therapy and it’s part of my masters thesis actually. Check out the Japanese research into Forest Bathing and Nature Therapy. It’s in English. https://www.natureandforesttherapy.earth

      12. Read The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk because it’s super helpful.

      Like

      Reply

  267. After reading this, I don’t feel any better but more thar is was my fault I am messed up and wanting to kill myself even more. Having never being able build a relationship with anyone no matter how much I want to be with someone, it doesn’t feel good knowing no one wants you

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  269. I scored a 9 on the ACE test and 10 on resilience. It was good to read the resilience questions to remind me of the goodness around me during my childhood!

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  270. Would a parent’s death have the same weight as losing a parent to divorce? I have a student whose mother almost died from medical issues when the student was three years old. Major medical concerns are still associated with her mother. Her father died of heart disease when student was eight years old. Do either of these events which effected both her primary care givers count as an ACE?

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    • If you experienced abuse in your school, you can read this https://www.vice.com/en/article/4adk4j/everyones-invited-me-too-private-schools and you can share your story here, if that helps https://www.everyonesinvited.uk (It doesn’t have to be a story of abuse in a school in the UK. Could be a school anywhere. I already shared some of my stories there.) Just feels good to get it off your chest. Therapeutic.

      Anyway I wanted to share with you the resources I compiled for another traumatized person that I met here and I hope they can help you too 🙂 I got an ACE score of 10.

      Some things I have done to heal include:
      1. Becoming a Christian and going regularly to Life Church Online. http://www.live.life.church Praying a LOT with any Christian I can find or the Crossroads 24-7 prayer hotline if I can’t find anyone to pray with 1-866-273-4444. They do not preach, I just say what is troubling me and then they pray over me and I listen and sometimes I pray for me too. It’s only 5 minutes and has a 15 minute wait time but it makes me feel a lot better. I can pray with Life Church in the chat room. Life Church chat room is open from 7 am – 11 pm every single day and is moderated by hosts that keep away the trolls.

      2. Talking a lot to this domestic violence hotline called CARDV. They have men and women working there 24-7 and they believe you when you talk about rape and even when you talk about cannibalism (I also had to deal with them drinking my blood because they are big into the occult/Satan/witchcraft…but no one I told to try to rescue me ever believed me about the cannibalism.) Anyway CARDV has no problems believing my experiences no matter how strange they seem to other people. So they would believe you. The hotline is 1-541-754-0110. It is based in Oregon. http://www.cardv.org

      3. Becoming a vegan (actually a lot of health problems are created from eating meat especially from all the hormones they inject cows with and part of your rage is coming from excessive amounts of stress hormones/overworked adrenals, etc.)

      4. Learning a lot about vitamins and supplements and taking what I need to balance my hormones and heal my mind and my body. You really need to start taking a probiotic for your health. It is essential.

      5. Yoga to increase calm and flexibility. Hopefully I will start Qi Gong soon.

      6. Get a trauma informed primary care doctor (still working on that one).

      7. Seeing a chiropractor because all the beatings I survived made my bones slide out of place easily when they were not broken. So now they just move around and get sorta dislocated but not completely (just twisted around and stuck) because I have hyper mobility due to my bones constantly getting dislocated by abusers. So I am going to an Activator trained chiropractor to reset my bones to help my body know exactly where my bones are supposed to be in relation to my muscles. I also give myself plenty of massages and I like to use safflower oil and peppermint oil mixed together.
      https://doc.activator.com

      8. Journalling about all of my nightmares and all of my flashbacks that I have day and night.

      9. In progress: Looking to get 2 years of EMDR treatment to reduce or eliminate my psychogenic seizures caused by PTSD. It’s been clinically proven to work.

      10. Singing and dancing to increase my endorphins and help me process the torture by singing about it. I also sing about wanting to kill or hurt some of the abusers with my bare hands or weapons which helps me not actually do it. So musical theater is really helpful. Just pretend your life is a musical. Helps me cope.

      11. Spending a LOT of time in nature doing Sit Spots, just walking around. Try reading the book Sit Spots and the Art of Inner Tracking by Trotta. I am in progress of learning nature therapy and it’s part of my masters thesis actually. Check out the Japanese research into Forest Bathing and Nature Therapy. It’s in English. https://www.natureandforesttherapy.earth

      12. Read The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk because it’s super helpful.

      Like

      Reply

  280. – On the ACEs, I scored a 3. Since I couldn’t find a way to arrive at a summary Resilience score, I’ll report results this way: On the Resilience scale, I had:
    – no definitely true responses and two probably true.
    – six definitely not true responses, one not true and three probably not true.
    – two not sure responses.

    How do I score that? And what does it mean?

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  282. I scored 10 “not sure” and 3 “not true” and 1 “definitely true” in resilience… I can’t remember my childhood very well! Also on ACE score where were the other/rare factors such as accidents and stuff? What would I score if I had 4 “bad”accidents, that 3 of them I could have died from? Also my grandad was a mean old man, who didn’t like our family very much, because we weren’t blood related! But grandparents aren’t mentioned… Just wondering whether there is a more extensive test?!

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  283. Why is racism mentioned in the second paragraph but not on the quiz? It is a huge trauma for me, especially since I attended school during the 60s, when I was frequently harassed with the “N” word and treated differently by teachers. While everyone believes the world is a kinder, gentler place for Black children to grow and develop in, the trauma of my inferior socialization has informed my every move.

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  285. Interesting. I scored a 3 on the ACES test, and 14 on Resilience. Likely why I became a social worker. A parent tried initially to blame me for my abuse, and I can remember clear as day the day I told both of my parents that my abuse was not my fault, it was theirs. Any possibility that me being an oldest child and them both being the youngest children in their families had something to do with that??

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  286. Ace score of 8 and resilience of 4.
    I have CRPS, Gastritis Disease, had ulcers as a kid, Asthma, IBS, Anxiety, Depression, and PTSD.
    I’ve always assumed my stomach issues were due to my childhood, guess this is more proof.

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  289. I am 0 ACE and 14 Resilience. All of this is very interesting. Not sure what it means though… 30+ years of Direct Services..

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  290. I scored a 2. I had a good childhood growing up. My parents did get divorced when I was younger but they always co parented great together.

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  293. This survey/test score system is… okay, but needs some work. For one, many of the comments have mentioned this before, but I was surprised at the lack of mentions of bullying or loss of a friend or loved one.
    Furthermore, there were some specific details I don’t think should have been included. For number three, I don’t think the age specification really matters as sexual abuse can occur among peers of the same or similar ages, even between two young children. And for number seven, I think it can be really harmful to only mention domestic violence against women because men/fathers/stepfathers can be the victim of domestic abuse and is just as harmful for children. Pretending only mothers/stepmothers experience this kind of abuse is very harmful to male victims of domestic violence and their children.

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  296. ACE’s Score – 0
    Resilience Score – 13
    It sucks to hear that so many people have had a troubled childhood and hopefully things will improve. I’m glad they stay strong or try to heal things but it isn’t easy. I wish a lovely future to you all!

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  300. Anonymously commenting. I scored a 5. I grew up with a father who was conatantly belittling me, my brothers ans mom. I did stray in life at one point, drank to numb my feelings, drank to be social. I ran around with deviants to find acceptance. I ended up unscathed of some major issues. I graduated college, did a master’s and made peace with my past. I am not the words of my father. I’m the person I choose to be.

    I hope everyone finds healing. You deserve it.

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  301. Aces 7/Resilience 2

    My wife, who I’ve been married to for just over ten years, has recently separated from me, She demands that I seek treatment for BPD, and only BPD. Also, I must be prescribed DBT, and only DBT, for the treatment. Otherwise, she will divorce me. She saw a video on YouTube about BPD, which I showed her. Ever since, she has insisted that I get BPD treatment, whenever I disagree with her about anything. She will say I am mentally deranged for my opposing opinions, but mostly ignores or dismisses me, especially whenever I’ve asked her to cooperate or compromise with me on family issues. For the last few years, she has often (probably about 100 times) gotten mad enough to leave our house, and spend the night elsewhere.

    I was looking a video about narcissism, searching for a reason of what might cause her extreme lack of empathy. I found one, and there I also saw that she had other possible signs. I then came across a video about BPD sufferers being abused by narcissists. So I then watched a few more videos on BPD. She watched one with me, and then concluded that I have BPD. She is unapproachable about any chance of being narcissistic, of course. In fact, when I later brought it is when she left me.

    Anyway, I read that CPTSD often mimics BPD. Considering the two scores that I posted above, Maybe it is the real problem that I have, instead of BPD. I don’t want to go to a therapist, and “demand DBT for my BPD”, as she insists I do even before being diagnosed. However, I really don’t want to divorce, and I think maybe I should just do want she wants to placate her.

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  302. Hello,
    I am a third year student nurse and would like to know why question 7- only refers to abuse towards ‘mothers’ or ‘stepmothers’ when abuse towards men is also significant. This question is triggering and contributes to the stigma surrounding male domestic abuse and could be seen as a factor to why men are often afraid to speak out. I hope you rectify this and get back to me.
    Thank you.

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  305. I scored 8 on all three. My ACES score was 8, my definitely & probably true as a child equaled 8, out of those 8 i believe all 8 true today.
    Should this sorry me? I’m healthy, I’m centered, and living my life succeeding in my dreams, goals and desires. With strong boundaries. ” I feel great!.” I’m definitely A SURVIVOR!!!! Night a victim……. Thank you for your time & consideration.

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  306. Excellent reading. Realising from all the comments and my ace score how lucky I am to have such a supportive family growing up and today.

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  309. […] My ACE score by the time I was seven years old was a six.  My score put me into a very high-risk category or being susceptible to a whole slew of addictions and chronic illnesses.  Dr. Burke explains the neuroscience behind our stress, adversity, and why we do what we do.  She also explains why it’s so important to lower our ACE scores so we can leave behind a healthy legacy for the next generation.  I encourage you to take the ACE quiz to see what you score.  To take the quiz click here. […]

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  312. I scored 1 on the ACE test.

    On the Resilience test I scored 14. I feel very lucky to have had two loving supportive parents, and a great big brother. Sure there were some usual butting of heads & generational issues, but overall I had a happy healthy childhood. We moved about every 3-4 years which created some stress leaving friends… but I learned to make new ones. My family was close & consistent… a safe place no matter what country we lived in.

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  313. I scored 8 definitely true, 2 probably true, 1 not sure, 2 probably not, and 1 definitely not true. What does that mean then? I am 57 years old and have parents that recently brought up our childhood abuse, mostly mine, and say yet again “you deserved everything you got.” I thought I had moved past it but their comments brought it all back as if I never received therapy or counseling. A friend mentioned this test and I am following up on her recommendation. I’m not sure how it might help?

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  314. I scored 10 on Ace and 2 on resilience. I’m 62, live alone, suffer from diabetes, CPTSD, depression, anxiety and feel at my saturation point. I have no money, therefore no help for me. Not even at $60 per session. Can you please advise?

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  319. I scored a 9 for aces and a 5 for resilience what does that mean?
    I have been diagnosed with Lupus and R.A both autoimmune diseases.

    I also suffer from poor blood circulation and am constantly allowing my boyfriend to verbally abuse me and sometimes it gets physical and can be violent. I am 31 just about to hit 32 year old female. I feel that people don’t like me and always think i’m negative when I am just trying to help.

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  321. […] This week I’ve done two days of trauma informed diploma practitioner training. I have had mixed excitement and trepidation. I know it’s looking at ACE (adverse childhood experience) score, and mines pretty high. I have already done some training in this field previously so I’m prepared for what it may throw at me. I feel this last couple of weeks I’ve been in a stronger place than I was a couple of weeks previously, and I am linking that in to hormones too. Have a look if you’ve never seen it before https://acestoohigh.com/got-your-ace-score/ […]

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  326. A lot of these testimonies sounded very familiar… some are very sad and some make me reel with anger for how helpless I was feeling. and some are so painful…..I found myself crying..

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  327. Scored an 8 on the ACE. Currently a first year medical student. Father is incapacitated and barely functional, mother is dead or incarcerated. I have a happy marriage of six years, two glowing youngsters, and zero substance use. I’ve earned leadership roles at every job I worked at and earned 4.0’s in undergrad and graduate school while working full time. While I understand that this isn’t everyone’s story, neither is succumbing to the negative, terrible, unbelievable events in your life. Everyone who scored on this exam is stronger than they know, more powerful than they believe, and is capable of becoming what they want to be. I’m going into medicine to help people like myself be the best they can be with their given circumstances. I believe we can be okay.

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  329. 9,5 I haven’t a clue how I have made it through what I have. All I know is that I have some much life to live and I believe that there isn’t anything that I can’t achieve with effort.

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  334. ONE OF THE GREATEST MINDS I HAVE YET TO ENCOUNTER! I was a confused addictive and more than certifiable ‘dually-diagnosed and troublesome, to say the least, history of literal warzone style early child rearing chaos. My genetics prepared me for a duality of terror and potentially miraculous ‘appearing’ transformative ability. I’m happy to report that, according to Dr. Ken’s teachings that I have overcome the worst odds possible and achieved close to a paragon’s state of potentiation. I started as a student/patient that scored a full-scale chance of, nearly imminent failure… and with the good doctor’s guidance manifested a full circle of healing. After taking his test again, five years after the initial introduction, I now score at full healing. It ‘appears’ to everyone that knows me intimately enough to be shockingly similar to a literal miracle. Flabbergasted, to say the least are my family and friends and now they all want to know the recipe. I am proud today to have the honor of calling this man one of my greatest friends and colleagues of my life’s experience. When Dr. Ken told me that I had achieved full recovery from my former state, I literally cried to my wife… with tears of happiness that are seldom felt in a human’s lifetime. Now I am proud to say that this Doctor and I have the same mission: to heal a fractured world and alleviate our world family from all of the unhealthy pain that is so needlessly present. I love this man like a father today! THANK YOU DOCTOR KEN!!!!!!!

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  336. My ACE score is 9. I give my resiliency to my extended family and my close attachment to those family members. My mother was dealing with her own issues and then was tragically killed in a car accident when I was 15 years old leaving me with more scars. Now at 50+ years of age I can only attribute my healing to those healthy attachments I developed with those in my extended family. I do have chronic health issues and have had a stroke at age 48. I don’t drink or smoke and live as healthy as I can. I have also had a great faith and I know that has been the reason I am still here on earth. Never give up and look a past the bad.

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  342. I scored 5 on the ACE and 3 on the Resilience test. I think they should add questions like “did you grow up in a single parent household” , “was your mother abusive” “were you ever in trouble with the law” ect…(This was the case for me)

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  347. Weird that the resiliency test also only focuses on youth and childhood.
    Sort of implies that things can’t get better after that.
    My score ACE score is high. Things didn’t get better until my mid 20s, but they did. It is an important message to get out there.

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  354. These questionnaires were quite thought provoking. I can see how these experiences still affect my life. My scores are 3 for Aces and 9 on the resilience questionnaire. I still feel the same about the responses in the resilience questionnaire. I hope that my daughter will complete this exercise for she had some major childhood traumas that used to bother me. I’m blessed to say that she’s living well and has a beautiful family and honorable profession as well.

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  358. […] Before coming to work for Rio Retreat Center at The Meadows as a Survivors Workshop facilitator, I worked with children and adolescents in residential treatment for seven years. The agency was amazing and provided consistent, compassionate, therapeutic and psychiatric long-term care for kids in the residential program. The agency also provided services for children and families in several equally effective programs. It was very rewarding and fun to work with the team, the children, and their families. Even though the children and adolescents returned to better home situations, I imagine that there are effects in their lives as adults because they had high ACEs scores (click here for your ACEs score). […]

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  361. Five on the first and ten on the second. So double the layer of protection: one layer to absorb the jabs and one layer on which to rely and from which to draw strength. Fascinating. I did not know what to expect from this, but certainly not that. Good luck, all, and cheers! 🙂

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  362. ACE: 9
    Resilience: 1

    I recently also discovered I am Highly Sensitive Person / Sensory processing sensitivity. I tried to get counseling, which meant I had to get a job that had benefits so I could afford it. After being on the job for 3 month I started counseling, but I could not take the stress of the job for long. After about a year I tried to drive my truck off a mountain road. I had to let that job go for obvious reasons. Just when I started feeling comfortable with my counselor. I believe being an HSP saved my live because I could only think about how sad and lost my family would feel if I did kill myself.

    That was a year a go. I have been stuck in my room now for a little over 2 years. My wife and 2 adult mentally disabled sons (19 years old twins) are the only reason I don’t end it. I also have VERY loud tinnitus which make me very stressed. I understand that people who are HSP/SPS with traumatic childhoods suffer as adults. I would like to heal for this but I have no clue how to do this, as I stared I tried to get counseling but failed to hold a job to pay for it. Our only funds are the disability my 2 sons receive. I have tried to get help but the Canadian systems has been SO abused for so many years that it is VERY hard to get disability unless it is a visible disability. We even tried a go fund me https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-our-family-from-a-life-on-the-streets to try and move into a trailer where we could lower our living costs and live in the wilderness for a while so I could return to nature to self heal. But that flopped because I am not a social person.
    Well that my story. Hope it will not upset people. I hate to make people feel bad.
    BeBlessed-Darren

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  366. I’m 14 and scored a 6 on the ACE questioner. I’ve thought about suicide, but that would be an even bigger burdon on my family. I’ve smoked and have drank alcohol. Anyone wants to help feel free to try.

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  368. Scored a 5 on the Aces test and a 6 on Questionnaire as a child and a 9 on today. Noticed I have come along way with Gods help and healing through forgiveness of my past life experiences. Definitely a continuing journey.

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  376. I scored an 8 on ACE and a 2 on resilience.

    I’m not sure what to make of it? I don’t smoke and I’ve never done drugs. I rarely drink. Will admit to being a junkfood addict.

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  377. I have 10 ACES and score at least 9 definitely true.
    My mother was chronic alcoholic since my conception 1988 and battled with it for 20 years.
    She had a traumatic life I was witnessed too and declined dramatically in her last year, passing in 2016.
    The most traumatic was how the helping professions treated her and failed her and finally the justice system. That was one of the most disempowering/traumatic things to witness as a child (the treatment of a single mother with health issues)

    It was due to the family law systems and social systems that I was exposed to further abuse eg. Father removing us from mothers care after being absent and social services. My grandmother won custody and cared for us well, meeting our needs but we developmental trauma from the early years.

    I later experienced community abuse as a result of family circumstances and led me into toxic relationships and everything else that goes with it!

    Due to grandmothers influence I held onto some values and progressed in work life despite breakdowns and set backs along the way.

    Regarded as a bright child but due to bullying didn’t get all qualifications I could of achieved, this didn’t stop me gaining this later in life.

    I experienced domestic abuse and was diagnosed with MS in recent years.

    Once again re-traumatised by the gaps in the systems whereby abuser has been able to further abuse and use the Family Laws shortcomings to keep institutional control in place.

    Currently studying developmental trauma and helping others

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  379. I feel like there are things not included on the test that really should be. For instance, I was frequently bullied and ridiculed in school, and because no one at home noticed how much I suffered, I had to face that entirely alone. Also frequent moving, where we moved every year for a while and we’re always in school. And we kids being left to fend for ourselves and spending most of our non-school time physically fighting. Between those things, my mom’s schizophrenia, her abusiveness and neglect toward all of us (including my dad), my parents’ divorce and dad’s remarriage, being disowned by my mom’s family, etc., I’d be up at something like a 6 or 7 instead of a 4. Counting my blessings I had some awesome teachers who inspired me and an aunt who was like a grandma, because those things gave me the resilience I needed.

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    • All those abuses that you experienced add to the burden of the stress you endured. Since the first ACE Study, many other ACEs have been acknowledged and added, including bullying, frequent moving, experiencing and witnessing sibling abuse.

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  380. My girlfriend is suffering from CPTSD but she does not abuse any chemical substance at all, as her most trusted friend she’s told me everything and now since she has told me everything I helped her rule out all of her triggers though she had scars, she has not had any flashbacks in two months but she is starting to have nightmares. Please help me to understand this, I’ve tried getting her to go to a therapist or a mental evaluation professional but with COVID-19 is out that’s hard, please email me back with any information or coping techniques, thank you.

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    • Please join PACEsConnection.com (it’s free) for more information about how to heal and cope. The Practicing Resilience for Self-Care & Healing community and the Resource Center have quite a bit of information.

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  385. I don’t have many memories of my childhood, sometimes I’m thankful for that because I was abused and feel like it’s my mind’s way of trying to protect me; that being said I have lots of emotional issues and chronic health problems that are unhealed and plaque me terribly. I’m 54 and exhausted, I feel 100 and too tired to find help that has eluded me all of my life. I really appreciate the movie, makes me feel a little less crazy. I am interested in books that may help me though.

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  388. My Ace score was 5. My feelings when I had that number, “See, only 5, suck it up, Crybaby!” Ha! Guess I will be talking to my psychiatrist about trauma counseling. Reading the statistics and seeing that the highest category was >4 was astounding to me, resentfully so; yet emotionally validating. Being a healthcare professional, I am hyper aware of what these physical ailments look like. Trauma CAN actually break the heart. Thank you to Darrell Hammond for making me realize that 49 isn’t a shameful age to still be healing. I have had a couple of fairly recent and random breakthroughs; this movie has reignited hope that was starting to fade. I will continue my journey of healing. Be certain that your movie gave me a shove in the right direction. There is a fork in my road and I am choosing the correct path to take.
    With much gratitude and respect for your courage,
    Tracey

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  389. I scored 7 on the Ace and 4 on resilience. I am 59 and my abuse started at 2 1/2 until I was in early 20’s. What does all this mean?

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    • It means that you suffered from a lot of stress, which embedded itself in your body and brain (good book: How the Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk), and you had a good dose of resilience, which has kept you going.

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