Adverse Childhood Events : What They Are and Why They Matter
“The human brain is a social organ that is shaped by experience, and that is shaped in order to respond to the experience that you’re having. So particularly earlier in life, if you’re in a constant state of terror, your brain is shaped to be on alert for danger and to try to make those terrible feelings go away. In a healthy developmental environment, your brain gets to feel a sense of pleasure, engagement, and exploration. Your brain opens up to learn, to see things, to accumulate information, and to form friendships. But if… you’re not touched or seen, whole parts of your brain barely develop… If you run into nothing but danger and fear, your brain gets stuck on just protecting itself from danger and fear.” - Bessel Van Der Kolk
Adverse childhood events (ACEs) refer to emotionally overwhelming or traumatic experiences that occur during childhood.
ACEs include physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, neglect, household dysfunction, and exposure to violence or substance abuse. These experiences can have a significant, long-lasting impact on a person’s physical and mental health, as well as their overall well-being.
According to the CDC, close to 60% of adults in the United States have experienced at least one ACE, and nearly 1 in 6 adults has experienced 4 or more. The effects of ACEs are not limited to living through trauma in childhood but often last into adulthood. Studies show that experiencing ACEs impacts a person’s physical and mental health, behavior, and social functioning.
ACEs can have significant impacts on a child's health, including increased risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Children who experience ACEs are more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as substance abuse and have a higher likelihood of experiencing mental health issues, including, but not limited to depression and anxiety. ACEs have also been shown to impact a child's brain development and cognitive abilities, leading to difficulties with learning and memory.
The impact of ACEs can extend beyond the individual to impact people they are in relationships with, along with their overall quality of life.
Children who experience ACEs are more likely to struggle with forming healthy relationships, have difficulty with trust and intimacy, and can experience significant emotional and behavioral challenges.
ACEs can have significant and long-lasting impacts on individuals' health and well-being throughout adulthood.
Research has shown that ACEs are linked to a range of health outcomes, including chronic diseases, mental health issues, substance abuse, and early mortality.
Below are researched impacts of Adverse Childhood Events
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ACEs are associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer. The more ACEs an individual has experienced, the higher their risk of developing chronic diseases later in life.
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ACEs are linked to an increased risk of mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicide. Individuals who have experienced ACEs are also more likely to have multiple mental health conditions.
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ACEs are associated with an increased risk of substance abuse, including alcohol and drug use disorders. Individuals who have experienced ACEs are more likely to engage in risky behaviors and use substances as a coping mechanism.
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ACEs can lead to social and emotional problems in adulthood, including difficulty forming relationships, low self-esteem, and poor social skills.
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ACEs are associated with impaired cognitive function, including difficulty with memory, attention, and decision-making. This can impact individuals' ability to succeed in school, work, and other areas of life.
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Individuals who have experienced ACEs are at increased risk of premature death. This is due to the higher rates of chronic diseases, mental health issues, and substance abuse associated with ACEs.
It's important to note that the impacts of ACEs can be intergenerational, meaning that individuals who have experienced ACEs are more likely to have children who also experience ACEs. This can perpetuate the cycle of adversity and increase the risk of CPTSD in future generations.
It also feels important to note that environmental failures, or cultural trauma, captures trauma caused by discrimination, community violence, and societal stigma which also negatively impacts healthy child development.
Heller, L & Kammer B. “The Practical Guide for Healing Developmental Trauma. Using NARM to Address Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resolve Complex Trauma”
The impact of Adverse Childhood Eventas are significant and far-reaching.
It's important for individuals who have experienced ACEs to receive specialized support to address the impacts of experiencing childhood and developmental trauma. Complex trauma results from chronic, long-term exposure to relational and emotional trauma in which someone has little to no control and little to no escape. Many people who have experienced ACEs, or developmental trauma, will live with CPTSD as an adult.
If you're wondering if you have experienced an ACE, it's important to remember that ACEs can take many different forms, and everyone's experience is different.
Years ago the CDC launched a study on how childhood trauma relates to adult health. The study was composed of 10 questions inquiring about different experiences in adversity throughout childhood.
The 10 categories are below:
Physical abuse
Sexual abuse
Emotional abuse
Physical neglect
Emotional neglect
Household substance abuse
Household mental illness
Parental separation or divorce
Witnessing domestic violence
Incarceration of a household member
The study concluded that the more of these experiences a person has throughout childhood, the more likely they are to develop strategies (self-harm, depression, body dysmorphia, anxiety, eating disorders) to manage the resulting emotional overwhelm and unresolved trauma.
Calculate Your ACEs Score with The Adverse Childhood Events Questionnaire
Give yourself 1 “point” for each question you experienced that category of trauma before you turned 18
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Did a parent of other adult often or very often insult, demean, belittle, humiliate, verbally assault or threaten to physically assault you? _____
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Did a parent or other adult often or very often grab, slap, push or hit you? _____
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Did a parent, adult, or someone at least 5 years older than you ever touch or body in a sexual way or attempt or have oral, anal or vaginal intercourse with you? _____
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Did you often or very often feel that no one in your family loved you or thought you were important; or your family did not look out for each other, feel close to each other, and support each other? _____
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Did you often or very often no have enough to eat, had to wear dirty clothes, had no one to attend to your medical and dental needs, or had no one to protect you? _____
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Were your parents separated or divorced, or did you lose a parent for any reason? _____
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Did you often or very often witness or hear violence between your parents or other adults where someone was being grabbed, shoved, slapped, hit, kicked had something thrown at them, sexually attacked or threatened with a weapon?______
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Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic, who used illicit drugs, or who was addicted to any other substance? ______
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Did you live with anyone who was depressed, or mentally ill, attempted or committed self-harm and/or suicide, or hospitalized for mental illness? _____
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Add every category that you responded “yes” .
Your ACEs score (0-10)
What might your score tell you about your experience in the world as an adult?
It's important to remember that if you have experienced ACEs, it's not your fault.
And there are specialized mental health professionals available to help you address developmental trauma and the impact it may have had on your life.
You deserve relief from the impact of what you experienced throughout your childhood.
The team here at Reclaim Therapy specializes in treating childhood trauma and Complex Trauma (CPTSD) often resulting from ACEs.
We’ll be here to support you when you’re ready.
We provide trauma treatment and EMDR Therapy in Pennsylvania.
Our team specializes in treating trauma, complex trauma, and eating disorders. We also treat anxiety, depression, and grief at our Horsham, PA office and via online therapy in Pennsylvania. We also provide one on one counseling and group support for people who live in Pennsylvania who are struggling with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, orthorexia, PTSD, and compulsive exercise. Click the button below to set up an appointment with a caring therapist today.
As eating disorder therapists in Pennsylvania, we know how important it is to treat eating disorders from a trauma-focused lens.
Heller, L & Kammer B. “The Practical Guide for Healing Developmental Trauma. Using NARM to Address Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resolve Complex Trauma”