Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that occur before the age of 18 that may impact a child’s mental, physical, and emotional health. Dr. Robert Anda (CDC) and Dr. Vincent Felitti (Kaiser Permanente) created a study in the late 1990’s to look at ten categories of adverse experiences in childhood and adolescence and the health effects being experienced throughout adulthood. The group of study subjects consisted of 17,337 adults (approximately 1/2 Men and 1/2 Women) all around the age of 57. 80% were White, 10% were Black, 10% were Asian, and 74% had a college education. The group was middle class adults in San Diego, CA. (Dr. Vincent Felitti: Reflections on the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, YouTube National Congress of American Indians.)
The ten categories were subjects that were overwhelming not talked about for many reasons. These include physical and emotional abuse, physical and emotional neglect, sexual abuse, a parent who is addicted to alcohol or other drugs, who is depressed or mentally ill, a mother who is abused, an incarcerated family member, divorced or separated caregivers. A person who had an experience in a category counted the category once (ACE score of 1). If a person had an experience in three categories, he or she would count an ACE score of 3.
Two things were astonishing about the results of the ACE study. First, ACEs are common: 67% had 1 or more; 11% had 5 or more. Second, the relationship of ACEs and poor outcomes later in life is striking. We take these percentages at a population level. The ACE score itself in one individual does not directly mean the same thing in another individual with the same ACE score.
Some health outcomes are: diseases - heart, lung, liver diseases, cancers, asthma, diabetes, and auto-immune diseases. Risk behaviors seen are: smoking, drinking, illicit drug use, risk of HIV, high risk sexual activity, STDs, and unintended pregnancies. Poor metal health conditions experienced can include: depression, anxiety, mental distress, and serious mental illness. Additionally other challenges may be divorce, obesity, incarceration, homelessness, self-harm, intimate partner violence, workplace problems, and unemployment.
Each state has chosen the ACE module at least once in the BRFSS (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System) performed annually by the CDC. You can learn more about the survey and check the results of your state at:
Survey Results: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/ace-brfss.html.
Since the ACE Study, doctors and communities from all over have been learning about how our brains work, what are protective factors, and helping children, adults, and communities build resilience skills. There are hundreds of current websites from communities all around the globe that share information on what they are doing and asking questions to generate new learning for all.
To learn more about the ACE Study and Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences you can check out these websites: