The ACEs study was launched in the late 1990s by the CDC and Kaiser Permanente. It followed more than 17,000 people and asked about ten categories of childhood adversity. Researchers found a powerful connection: the more ACEs a person experienced, the greater their risk for a wide range of health and life challenges later on — from heart disease and chronic illness to depression, addiction, and relationship struggles.
It doesn’t mean your future is determined by your past. What it does mean is that the conditions we grow up in matter. And naming them is often the first step toward shifting their impact.
The 10 ACEs Questions (Adapted for Reflection)
Read through these ten questions. Each one can be answered Yes or No based on your experiences before the age of 18.
- Emotional abuse
Did a parent or adult in your home often belittle you, shame you, or make you feel afraid through words or actions? - Physical abuse
Did a parent or adult in your home often hit, push, grab, or physically hurt you in ways that left marks or caused fear? - Sexual abuse
Did an adult, older child, or anyone at least 5 years older ever touch you sexually, make you touch them, or force you into sexual activity? - Emotional neglect
Did you often feel that no one in your family made you feel loved, important, or supported? - Physical neglect
Did you often not have enough to eat, wear dirty clothes, or feel that no one was protecting and caring for you? - Mother treated violently
Did you see your mother or stepmother being pushed, slapped, kicked, or otherwise physically hurt? - Household substance abuse
Did you live with someone who misused alcohol, drugs, or other substances? - Household mental illness
Did you live with someone who was depressed, mentally ill, or who attempted suicide? - Parental separation or divorce
Were your parents ever separated or divorced? - Household incarceration
Did a household member go to prison or jail?
How to Use This Tool
- Count your “Yes” answers to get your ACEs score.
- A higher score means greater risk for long-term effects, but even a single “Yes” can have deep impacts.
- Remember: this is not a diagnosis. It’s a starting point for awareness.
Beyond the Score
The ACEs questionnaire doesn’t capture everything. It doesn’t measure subtle dynamics like emotional coldness, covert control, or feeling unseen. It doesn’t reflect protective factors like resilience, mentors, or safe friendships.
Still, it offers a valuable starting map. By recognizing patterns of adversity, you create space to understand how those experiences may connect to what you’re facing today — whether in your body, your mind, or your relationships.
Reflection Prompt
Take a few minutes to sit with your score.
- How does it feel to see your early experiences written out in this way?
- Do certain questions bring up strong emotions, while others feel flat?
- What connections can you notice between these early experiences and challenges you’ve faced as an adult?
Final Note
Whatever your ACEs score, healing is possible. The past shapes us, but it doesn’t lock us in place. Naming your experiences is not about blame — it’s about truth. And truth is the ground from which real change begins.
This checklist is just one tool. In time, you’ll see how it connects with other ways of understanding trauma, and how practices from the Daoist healing arts can help transform its effects.
