1 in 6
experienced four or more types of ACEs.
3 times
the risk of depression for those with an ACE score of 4 or more.
5 out of 10
leading causes of death are associated with ACEs.
44%
Preventing ACEs could reduce the number of adults with depression by as much as 44%.
The Stop Abuse Campaign protects children from Adverse Childhood Experiences. Read more about our work.
What does your ACE score mean?
As your Adverse Childhood Experience score increases, the risk of health problems and social and emotional problems increases. Think about your score as a tally of different types of toxic stress you endured as a child and an alert to some statistical indicators of health risks.
The ACE study shows that as your ACE score increases, so does your risk of suffering from mental health and medical problems like chronic depression, cancer, or coronary heart disease, which are the effects of childhood trauma.
The chart shows the consequences of a score of 4 or more. From this score, the likelihood of chronic pulmonary lung disease increases by 390%; hepatitis, 240 %; depression, 460 %; and attempted suicide, 1,220 %.
However, there are still some severe consequences of a lower score. A third of Americans have an ACE score of only one, and their chance of becoming an alcoholic doubled. An ACE score of two means four times the risk of alcoholism, and an ACE score of 3 may explain your chronic depression.
Understanding your childhood means being able to understand your possible risks and being able to prevent the potential consequences.
What does your ACE score mean?
As your ACE score increases, the risk of disease and social and emotional problems increases. Think about your ACE score as measuring the amount of toxic stress you endured as a child and alerting yourself to some statistical indicators of health risks.
The higher your ACE score, the higher your chance of suffering from psychological and medical problems like chronic depression, cancer, or coronary heart disease.
The chart shows the consequences of a score of 4 or more. From this score, the likelihood of chronic pulmonary lung disease increases by 390%; hepatitis, 240 %; depression, 460 %; and attempted suicide, 1,220 %.
However, there are still some severe consequences of a lower score. A quarter of Americans have an ACE score of only one, and their chance of becoming an alcoholic doubled. An ACE score of two means four times the risk of alcoholism, and an ACE score of 3 may explain your chronic depression.
Understanding your childhood means being able to understand your possible risks and being able to prevent the potential consequences.
| ACE SCORE OF 0 | ACE SCORE OF 4 | INCREASED RISK | |
| Likelihood of becoming an alcoholic | 2.5% | 11% | four-fold increase |
| Suffering from chronic depression | 15% women 10% men | 42% women 30% men | tripled |
| Having a serious problem working | 5% | 15% | tripled |
| Having serious financial problems | 10% | 20% | doubled |
| Chance of heart disease | 3.7% | 5.6% | doubled |
| Having a stroke | 2.6% | 4.1% | doubled |
