THE ACES QUIZ

The quiz score is based on ten types of childhood trauma measured in the original ACEs 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 parent who’s a victim of domestic violence, a family member in jail, a family member diagnosed with a mental illness, and the disappearance of a parent through divorce, death or abandonment.

You get one point for each type of trauma. The higher your ACE score, the higher your risk of disease, social and emotional problems as an adult.

 First, there are many experiences that could be traumatic for children that the quiz doesn’t ask about such as community violence, poverty, housing insecurity, racism, other forms of discrimination, natural disasters, chaotic environments, isolation, lack of services and more.

This means answering all the questions on the ACE quiz will not give a full picture of the adversity a child has faced – and thus would not be a true indicator of possible risk—nor a full picture of the possible solutions communities should consider.

Second, everyone is different, and adverse experiences in childhood affect each child differently. Just because a person has experienced several ACEs does not mean that later social, emotional, or health problems are inevitable. Some children develop resilience – the ability to overcome serious hardship – while others do not.

Genetic factors also play a role, in that some children are predisposed to be more sensitive to adversity than others. And the most common factor among children who show resilience is at least one stable and responsive relationship with a supportive adult.

Finally, the ACEs quiz doesn’t consider the crucial role protective factors such as supportive relationships play in buffering the effects of trauma and toxic stress in a child’s life.

The ACEs quiz is a helpful tool for raising awareness about the potential impact of ACEs, on both an individual and community level. When we know more, we can do more. Understanding how trauma has long-lasting impacts is a key part of healing and, most importantly, prevention.

But, each and every one of us is strong and capable of recovery.

In fact, receiving an ACE score is often a transformative time for individuals on their path toward recovery. We encourage individuals to visit the resources listed below to learn strategies for healing, and also to learn how this information can be used as a powerful tool for parents and caregivers who want to break the cycle of trauma that’s often passed down among generations.