CDC-Kaiser ACEs Study

• ACEs are common. 28% of study participants reported physical abuse and 21% reported sexual abuse. Many also reported experiencing a divorce or parental separation, or having a parent with a mental and/or substance use disorder.
• ACEs cluster. Almost 40% of the original Kaiser study sample reported two or more ACEs and 12.5% experienced four or more. Because ACEs cluster, many subsequent studies now look at the cumulative effects of ACEs rather than the individual effects of each.
• ACEs have a dose-response relationship with many health problems. As researchers followed participants over time, they discovered that a person’s cumulative ACEs score has a strong, graded relationship to numerous health, social and behavioral problems throughout their lifespan, including substance use conditions. Furthermore, many problems related to ACEs tend to be comorbid or co-occurring.