10 ACE. 18 questions. 4 tipping point

 Here are the 18 ACE questionnaire questions used in the original study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente. Each “Yes” contributes to one of the 10 ACE categories.

Abuse (Emotional, Physical, Sexual)

1. Did a parent/adult often swear at you, insult you, or put you down?
2. Did a parent/adult often act in a way that made you afraid you might be physically hurt?
3. Did a parent/adult push, grab, slap, or throw something at you?
4. Did a parent/adult hit you so hard you had marks or were injured?
5. Did an adult or person ≥5 years older touch or fondle you sexually?
6. Did that person try or actually have oral, anal, or vaginal sex with you?

Neglect (Emotional, Physical)

7. Did you feel no one in your family loved you or thought you were important?
8. Your family didn’t look out for each other / feel close / support each other?
9. Did you often feel you didn’t have enough to eat, wore dirty clothes, or had no protection?
10. Were your parents too drunk/high to take care of you?
11. Did your parents fail to take you to doctor when needed?

Household challenges

12. Was your mother/stepmother pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at her?
13. Was she kicked, bitten, hit with fist, or hit with something hard?
14. Was she repeatedly hit for several minutes or threatened with weapon?
15. Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic?
16. Did a household member use street drugs?
17. Was a household member depressed or mentally ill, or did someone attempt suicide?
18. Did a household member go to prison?

These 18 questions collapse into 10 ACE categories, which give the ACE score (0–10).