Adults - Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years). Examples of ACEs include experiencing violence, abuse or neglect, having parents that are divorced, and witnessing violence in the home or community. ACES are common, with about 61% of adults surveyed across 25 states reporting that they had experienced at least one type of ACE, and nearly 1 in 6 reported they had experienced four or more types of ACEs.
Untreated ACES are connected to issues like drug use and alcoholism, as well as mental health problems like depression and physical health problems like severe obesity.
Note:
According to one study, persons with four or more ACEs compared to those with no ACEs were 2.34 times as likely not to graduate high school, 2.3 times as likely to be unemployed, and 1.6 times as likely to live in a household reporting poverty.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention