Skip to main content
    Trauma & stress · 10 items · 0–10 · Felitti VJ, Anda RF, Nordenberg D, et al. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245-258. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(98)00017-8

    ACE Questionnaire: Scoring, Cutoffs & Interpretation

    A 10-item retrospective screen counting categories of adverse childhood experiences before age 18, from the CDC-Kaiser Adverse Childhood Experiences Study.

    Download printable PDF
    ACE0 / 10

    While you were growing up, during your first 18 years of life:

    Scored locally - nothing leaves this page

    01Did 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?
    02Did 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?
    03Did 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?
    04Did 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?
    05Did 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?
    06Were your parents ever separated or divorced?
    07Was 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?
    08Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic, or who used street drugs?
    09Was a household member depressed or mentally ill, or did a household member attempt suicide?
    10Did a household member go to prison?
    0 of 100 / 10

    02 - The clinician's brief

    Last reviewed: · Reviewed by Lotte Kjær Svalberg

    01 - Scoring & cutoffs

    How scoring works.

    Score
    Severity
    Interpretation
    0–0
    No reported ACEs
    About one third of the original study population reported no adverse childhood experiences.
    1–3
    One or more categories of adversity
    Risk of adverse health outcomes rises with the count in a graded, dose-response fashion.
    4–10
    Four or more categories
    In the original study this group (about 13% of respondents) showed markedly elevated risks, for example 4- to 12-fold increases for alcoholism, drug abuse, depression and suicide attempt compared with a score of 0 (Felitti et al. 1998).

    The bands below are descriptive research groupings, not validated clinical cutoffs. The ACE score counts categories of exposure, not severity, frequency or timing. It is a population-research tool; it does not diagnose anything or predict outcomes for an individual, and a high score should open a conversation, not close one.

    Related scales

    Instruments clinicians often use alongside this one

    trauma

    CTQ

    Childhood Trauma Questionnaire

    Licensed childhood trauma questionnaire (Pearson). Not available to score here.

    Open scale

    trauma

    PCL-5

    PTSD Checklist for DSM-5

    Twenty-item self-report measure of DSM-5 post-traumatic stress symptoms.

    Open scale

    trauma

    PC-PTSD-5

    Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5

    Five-item yes/no screen for post-traumatic stress in primary care.

    Open scale

    Scale without compromise

    See how Aisel removes friction where it costs most. A 20-minute walkthrough tailored to your clinic.