Page Last Updated: May 15, 2026
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)🔗
| ACEs | Pediatric ACEs | |
|---|---|---|
| Table Name | sed_cg_ace | sed_cg_pedaces |
| Construct | Adverse Childhood Experiences (Caregiver) | Adverse Childhood Experiences (Child) |
| Study Visits | V04 | V04, V06 |
| Administration | ||
| Child-specific: | No | Yes |
| Respondent: | Birth Parent or Primary Caregiver | Birth Parent or Primary Caregiver on Child |
| Method: | Self-administered in-person (2 min estimated duration) | |
| Quality Control | QC is minimal as participants only report the total number of ACE events. Declines in ACE scores at later visits should be interpreted cautiously, as they may reflect inconsistent or inaccurate responding. | |
This variable was only collected as a total ACE count, which means the specific items participants experienced are unknown. Total ACE counts are strongly associated with a variety of health-related outcomes, and we used this data collection strategy to encourage more accurate reporting. Total ACE counts should not be considered indexes of childhood neglect and maltreatment because not all ACE items reflect this. It would be inappropriate to conclude that higher total ACE counts in specific populations reflect increased child abuse, for example.
Instrument Details🔗
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are stressful or traumatic events experienced before the age of 18 years and associated with poor health outcomes. The ACEs measure indexes adverse events experienced by the parent/caregiver before age 18 (ACEs) (developer documentation) or child (pediatric ACEs) (Koita et al., 2018). Note that participants only report the total ACE events, so there is no scoring.
References🔗
California Surgeon General's Clinical Advisory Committee. Adverse Childhood Experience Questionnaire for Adults. https://www.acesaware.org/learn-about-screening/screening-tools/: United States: ACES Aware, 2020.
Koita K, Long D, Hessler D, Benson M, Daley K, Bucci M, et al. (2018) Development and implementation of a pediatric adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and other determinants of health questionnaire in the pediatric medical home: A pilot study. PLoS ONE 13(12): e0208088. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208088