Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic or stressful experiences, such as abuse, which occur during childhood or adolescence. Existing research shows that these negative early life experiences have long-lasting effects on an individual’s well-being. However, the burden of these experiences among Colorado adults was previously unknown. This study evaluated ten types of ACE: emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, physical neglect, domestic violence toward mother, household substance abuse, household mental illness, parental separation or divorce, and incarcerated household member. The ACE Study, along with many other replications since then, has established strong evidence of a correlation between the number of ACEs an individual is exposed to and a variety of health risk behaviors and chronic
conditions.
Published by: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Published date: March 2016
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Keyword(s):
Abuse and Neglect, Behavioral Health, Mental Health, Social Emotional Health