Adverse Childhood Experiences
ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES looking at how ACEs affect our lives & society
WHAT ARE ACES?
GENDER
RACE
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) is the term given to describe all types of abuse, neglect, and other traumatic experiences that occur to individuals under the age of 18. The landmark Kaiser ACE Study examined the relationships between these experiences during childhood and reduced health and well-being later in life.
WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE ACE STUDY? Between 1995 and 1997, over 17,000 people receiving physical exams completed confidential surveys containing information about their childhood experiences and current health status and behaviors. The information from these surveys was combined with results from their physical exams to form the study’s findings.
FEMALE
54% MALE
46%
OTHER
2% AFRICAN-AMERICAN
5% ASIAN / PACIFIC ISLANDER
7% HISPANIC / LATINO
19-29
5% 30-39
10% 40-49
19% 50-59
20% COLLEGE GRADUATE OR HIGHER WHITE 60+ 39% 75% 46%
AGE EDUCATION
NOT HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE
7% HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE
18% SOME COLLEGE
36% 11%
*Participants in this study reflected a cross-section of middle-class American adults.
HOW COMMON ARE ACES?
# of ACES
ZERO
36% ONE
26% TWO
16% THREE
9.5% FOUR OR MORE
12.5%
Almost two-thirds of adults surveyed reported at least one Adverse Childhood Experience – and the majority of respondents who reported at least one ACE reported more than one.
TYPES of ACES The ACE study looked at three categories of adverse experience: childhood abuse, which included emotional, physical, and sexual abuse; neglect, including both physical and emotional neglect; and household challenges, which included growing up in a household were there was substance abuse, mental illness, violent treatment of a mother or stepmother, parental separation/divorce or had a member of the household go to prison. Respondents were given an ACE score between 0 and 10 based on how many of these 10 types of adverse experience to which they reported being exposed.
ABUSE
0% 25% 50% 75%
HOUSEHOLD CHALLENGES NEGLECT
0% 25% 50% 75% 0% 25% 50% 75%
11% EMOTIONAL
28 % PHYSICAL
21% SEXUAL
MOTHER 13% TREATED VIOLENTLY
27 % SUBSTANCE ABUSE
19% MENTAL ILLNESS
23% SEPARATION/DIVORCE
5% INCARCERATED HOUSEHOLD MEMBER
15 % EMOTIONAL
10% PHYSICAL
HOW DO ACES AFFECT OUR LIVES?
ACES CAN HAVE LASTING EFFECTS BEHAVIOR & HEALTH… ON Simply put, our childhood experiences have a tremendous, lifelong impact on our health and the quality of our lives. The ACE Study showed dramatic links between adverse childhood experiences and risky behavior, psychological issues, serious illness and the leading causes of death.
The following charts compare how likely a person with1, 2, 3, or 4 ACEs will experience specified behaviors than a person without ACEs.
*Having an ACE score of zero does not imply an individual could not have other risk factors for these health behaviors/diseases.
PHYSICAL & MENTAL HEALTH BEHAVIORS SEVERE OBESITY LACK OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DIABETES SMOKING DEPRESSION ALCOHOLISM SUICIDE ATTEMPTS DRUG USE STDs MISSED WORK HEART DISEASE CANCER STROKE COPD BROKEN BONES
HOW DO ACES AFFECT OUR SOCIETY?
LIFE EXPECTANCY People with six or more ACEs died nearly 20 years earlier on average than those without ACEs.
6+
0 80 YEARS
60 YEARS
ECONOMIC TOLL The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the lifetime costs associated with child maltreatment at $124 billion.
PRODUCTIVITY LOSS HEALTH CARE SPECIAL EDUCATION CHILD WELFARE CRIMINAL JUSTICE $83.5 BILLION $25 BILLION $4.6 BILLION $4.4 BILLION $3.9 BILLION
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