Trauma

Adverse Childhood Experience Questionnaire

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Questionnaire is a simple scoring system that attributes one point for each category of adverse childhood experience. It is intended to be used as a broad screener for childhood experiences that may significantly influence health and functioning.

Total number of questions

10

Administration method

Self-report

Standardized cadence

Variable

Age range

Children and adults

Language

English

Scoring and interpretation

There are 10 types of childhood trauma measured in the ACEs Questionnaire. Five are personal — physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect. Five are related to other family members: a parent who’s an alcoholic, a mother who’s a victim of domestic violence, a family member in jail, a family member diagnosed with a mental illness, and the disappearance of a parent through divorce, death or abandonment. Each type of trauma counts as one. So a person who’s been physically abused, with one alcoholic parent, and a mother who was beaten up has an ACE score of three. The most important thing to remember is that the ACE score is meant as a guideline to lead to further inquire and conversation between patient and provider.

Reliability and validity

Additional information

Download a PDF of this assessment
Administer this assessment

We'll automatically score the assessment and send you the results.

Blueprint digital platform preview

Start delivering measurement-based mental health care

Automatically gather client data, measure client outcomes, and get insights at the point of care to make more informed treatment decisions.