Childhood Experiences

*A child is defined to be a person under the age of 18.

What are CEs, PCEs, and ACEs?

7 Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) were adapted from the Child and Youth Resilience Measure in a landmark study published by JAMA Pediatrics. The 7 PCEs indicate a child’s connectedness and safety in their home, school, and community.

10 Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) were defined in the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study.  The 10 ACEs covered experiences in abuse, neglect and household challenges. While the 10 ACEs do not cover all the possible adversities children encounter, they were the most common mentioned by the surveyed group in the original study, and were also well studied in research literature at the time.

Researchers have been using these 17 Childhood Experiences (CEs) as a context to measure correlations between quality of childhood and quality of adulthood for decades.

Learn Your Childhood Experience Scores

A Childhood Experience Score is:

✅ Information that increases self-awareness.
✅ A starting point to begin your healing journey, or insight on how to continue healing.
✅ A grounding data point that invokes gratitude for your perseverance and/or circumstances.

A Childhood Experience Score is not:

🚫 A whole picture of your trials and tribulations.
🚫 Something to blame all your problems on.
🚫 A number to use for competition, entitlement, or judgement.

Before your 18th birthday…

…did you feel like you were able to talk to your family about your feelings?

…did you feel like your family stood by you during difficult times?

…did you feel like you were safe and protected by an adult in your home?

…did you have at least two non-parent adults who took genuine & healthy interest in you?

…did you feel a sense of belonging in high school?

…did you feel like you were supported by friends?

…did you enjoy participating in community traditions?

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You are about to to engage with language about physical, mental, and sexual child abuse.

If you or someone you know is suicidal or in emotional distress, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline immediately. Trained crisis workers are available to talk 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

 

Before your 18th birthday…

…did your parents separate or divorce?

…did you live with anyone who struggled with addiction to alcohol or other drugs, including but not limited to illegal street drugs and prescription drugs such as oxycodone?

…did you live with a household member who struggled with depressed or mental illness, or was there a household member who attempted suicide?

…did a member of your household go to prison?

…was your mother or stepmother often or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at her? Sometimes, often, or very often was she kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, hit with something hard, repeatedly hit for minutes at a time, or threatened with a gun or knife?

…did you often or very often feel that no one in your family loved you or thought that you were important or special? Did you feel your family didn't look out for each other, feel close to each other, or support each other?

…did you feel that you didn’t have enough to eat, had to wear dirty clothes, and/or had no one to protect you? Did you often or very often feel your parents or caretakers were too drunk or high to take care of you or take you to the doctor if you needed it?

…was there a parent or other adult in the household often or very often swearing, insulting, threatening and/or humiliating you?

…was there a parent or other adult in the household often or very often pushing, grabbing, slapping, throwing objects, and/or hitting you with enough force to leave marks or injuries?

…was there an adult or person 5 or more years older than you touching or fondling you, or having you touch them in a sexual way including any attempts to have oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse?

Impact and Commonality of ACEs

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