What’s Your ACE Score?

It seems like ever since the Internet began, people have been using it to share quizzes. From “What Color is Your Aura?” to “Who’s Your 80s Movie Boyfriend”, there is a quiz for just about everything.

Well, we have one you may not have heard of – “What’s Your ACE Score?”

Based on a study by Dr. Vincent Felitti, the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study measures 10 types of traumatic childhood experiences. According to the ACES Too High website, “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 the disappearance of a parent through divorce, death or abandonment. 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.”

TAKE THE QUIZ

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. Was a biological parent ever lost to you through divorce, abandonment, or other reason ?
   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 _____

 

Add up your “Yes” answers: _____. This is your ACE Score.
 
Learn more about what it means.
 
 
This blog is the third of a 3-part series on the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study. Learn more about the study and Dr. Felitti’s findings here. For more information on the long-term effects of child sexual abuse, visit D2L.org/Statistics.