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Childhood Trauma Test (ACE Questionnaire)
The 10-question screen from the CDC-Kaiser ACE Study, with honest guidance on what an ACE score means and what it doesn’t.
- 10 questions
- About 2 minutes
- Adults 18+
- CDC-Kaiser ACE Study
- Free & private
Answering for your child? The ACE questionnaire asks about your own childhood. Do not answer it for your child — some items ask about things they may never have told you, and some about your own household.
What a ACE questionnaire score can and cannot tell you
The ACE questionnaire counts ten kinds of adverse childhood experience. It comes from a population study, not a clinical tool.
Clinicians treat the count as context: it says what happened, not how a person is doing now, and it does not predict any one outcome.
This is a count of experiences, not a measure of harm or of current symptoms. Two people with the same score can be in very different places.
About the ACE questionnaire
The ACE questionnaire comes from the CDC-Kaiser Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, one of the largest investigations ever conducted into how childhood adversity shapes adult health. It asks 10 yes/no questions about experiences before age 18, including: abuse, neglect, and household challenges like a parent’s mental illness, substance use, or incarceration.
An ACE score measures exposure, not damage. Higher scores, especially 4 or more, are linked with higher risks for depression, anxiety, and physical health problems. The same research shows those risks are not fixed. Safe relationships, therapy, and understanding your own history can all positively change outcomes, at any age.
Many parents take this questionnaire while thinking about their own children. That instinct is a good one: understanding how your childhood shaped you is one of the most protective things you can do for your kids. Emora Health offers therapy for parents alongside care for kids and teens.
How the ACE score is counted
The ACE score is a count, not a rating. Each "yes" adds a point, across ten kinds of experience before age 18.
The CDC-Kaiser study behind it links higher counts with higher health risks across large groups of people. It says nothing about how you are doing now. The same research is clear that safe relationships and treatment change what happens next, at any age.
The ten questions leave a lot out. Bullying, community violence, racism, medical trauma, and losing someone are not counted. A low score does not mean your childhood was easy.
Common questions
About two-thirds of adults report having experienced at least one ACE, and roughly one in six reports four or more. There is no "normal." The score is a research measure of exposure to ten specific kinds of adversity. It is not a grade or a diagnosis.
No. The ACE score does not measure trauma symptoms, resilience, or any mental health condition. It counts kinds of childhood adversity. How those experiences affect you today is individual, and that is what working with a therapist can explore.
A high score is information, not a verdict. If childhood experiences still affect your mood, relationships, sleep, or parenting, trauma-focused therapy has strong evidence of efficacy at any age. If anything feels overwhelming right now, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) is available around the clock.
No. Bullying, community violence, racism, medical trauma, and loss are not counted, and their effects are just as real. A low score does not invalidate what you went through.
Yes. The ACE questionnaire, ACE test, and ACEs quiz are the same 10 questions from the CDC-Kaiser study on adverse childhood experiences. This version scores it the standard way and explains what your number does and does not mean.
References
- Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., Koss, M. P., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245-258. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(98)00017-8 Official source
Keep reading
A screener starts the conversation. Care is the next step.
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