Find Your Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Score

Quiz Questions

• 1.
  While you were growing up, during your first 18 years of life, did a parent or other adult in the household often: Swear at you, insult you, put you down, or humiliate you? Or did they act in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt?

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 2.
  Did a parent or other adult in the household often: Push, grab, slap, or throw something at you? Or did they ever hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured? 

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 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 did they try to or actually have oral, anal, or vaginal sex with you? 

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 4.
   Did you often feel that: No one in your family loved you or thought you were important or special? Ot that your family didn’t look out for each other, feel close to each other, or support each other?

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 5.
  Did you often feel that: You didn’t have enough to eat, had to wear dirty clothes, and had no one to protect you? Or that your parents were too drunk or high to take care of you or take you to the doctor if you needed it? 

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 6.
  Were your parents ever separated or divorced? Or did a parent die before you turned 18?

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 7.
  Was a parent or family member: Often pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at her? Or sometimes or 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? 

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 8.
  Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic or who used street drugs? 

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 9.
  Was a household member depressed or mentally ill or did a household member attempt suicide? 

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 10.
  Did a household member go to prison? 

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 11.
  Were you teased or bullied based on your ethnic background or skin color? (Racism)

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 12.
  Were you teased or bullied based on your sexual orientation? (Homophobia, Transphobia, etc.)

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 13.
  Did you grow up in a city that endured a severe natural disaster such as a hurricane, tsunami, wild fires where many people lost homes or lost their lives?

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 14.
  Are you a descendant of parents, grandparents or great grandparents who survived war, the Holocaust, genocide, or slavery?

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No
• 15.
  Are you a child of immigrant parents?

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  • A.
    Yes
  • B.
    No

Quiz Outcomes

• 1.
  Low to Moderate ACE Score

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  The questions in the quiz are from the CDC-Kaiser Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. The CDC's (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) ACE Study uncovered a concerning link between childhood trauma and chronic diseases, plus social and emotional problems developed later in life. These problems include but are not limited to depression, heart disease, lung cancer, diabetes, and a range of autoimmune diseases. The list also includes acts of violence, being a victim of violence, and suicide. The study’s researchers came up with the ACE score to explain a person’s level of risk for these problems based on their childhood exposure to chronic stress. Of course, this particular study (and quiz) is based on the questions you just answered, which are far from an exhaustive list of possible childhood traumas. Therefore, this is not to be taken as a diagnostic tool, rather as a little reminder to take good care of yourself and each other, whether you have experienced some of these ACEs or not. We are each different and our ACE score is only one indicator for our risk of illness, physical and mental, later in life. But disclaimers aside, the growing pool of research is drawing a clear link between stress and illness, and it stands to reason that the earlier in life the stress began, the more the exposure could have negatively impacted you. Where to now? Everybody can benefit from self love and self care, even those with a low to moderate ACE score. We would like to recommend being kind to yourself, especially if taking this quiz brought up bad memories or big questions for you. We would also like to recommend incorporating more stress-relief into your life, such as meditation. Even if you have been exposed to stress your entire life, it is never too late to start healing. Thanks to research into neuroplasticity, we have enough evidence to believe that mediation can improve thought patterns at any age. Starting with the mind, the positive effects of lowering your mental stress can both improve your mental resilience AND help your physical healing too. Head here to download some free meditation resources and an eBook from Dr. Andrea Pennington. Read more on Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences by Dr. Andrea Pennington in the In8Vitality Magazine.
• 2.
  Moderate to High ACE Score

  Image Source

  The questions in the quiz are from the CDC-Kaiser Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. The CDC's (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) ACE Study uncovered a concerning link between childhood trauma and chronic diseases, plus social and emotional problems developed later in life. These problems include but are not limited to depression, heart disease, lung cancer, diabetes, and a range of autoimmune diseases. The list also includes acts of violence, being a victim of violence, and suicide. The study’s researchers came up with the ACE score to explain a person’s level of risk for these problems based on their childhood exposure to chronic stress. Of course, this particular study (and quiz) is based on the questions you just answered, which are far from an exhaustive list of possible childhood traumas. Therefore, this is not to be taken as a diagnostic tool, rather as a little reminder to take good care of yourself and each other, whether you have experienced some of these ACEs or not. We are each different and our ACE score is only one indicator for our risk of illness, physical and mental, later in life. But disclaimers aside, the growing pool of research is drawing a clear link between stress and illness, and it stands to reason that the earlier in life the stress began, the more the exposure could have negatively impacted you. Where to now? Everybody can benefit from self love and self care, even those with a moderate to high ACE score. We would like to recommend being kind to yourself, especially if taking this quiz brought up bad memories or big questions for you. We would also like to recommend incorporating more stress-relief into your life, such as meditation. Even if you have been exposed to stress your entire life, it is never too late to start healing. Thanks to research into neuroplasticity, we have enough evidence to believe that mediation can improve thought patterns at any age. Starting with the mind, the positive effects of lowering your mental stress can both improve your mental resilience AND help your physical healing too. Read more on Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences by Dr. Andrea Pennington in the In8Vitality Magazine. Head here to download some free meditation resources and an eBook from Dr. Andrea Pennington. You can also click the button below to visit the home of the #RealSelfLove movement, for much more from Dr. Andrea and her Real Self Love tribe.