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1990s US study identified ten adverse childhood experiences

Question asked:

“A 1990s United States study identified ten widely recognized adverse childhood experiences, including various forms of abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction such as domestic violence and living with an adult who has substance use problems.”
True
Confidence: High Checked on October 29, 2026

Summary

The original U.S. ACE study conducted in the mid‑1990s identified ten adverse childhood experiences. These comprise various forms of abuse, the two types of neglect (physical and emotional), and household dysfunction factors such as domestic violence and living with an adult who has substance‑use problems. This list has been widely recognized and used in subsequent research.

Sources 59 searched

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
cdc.gov
  • About Adverse Childhood Experiences | Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) | CDC

    The examples above are not a complete list of adverse experiences. Many other traumatic experiences could impact health and well-being. This can include not having enough food to eat, experiencing homelessness, or unstable housing.2345 · ACEs are common. Three in four high school students reported experiencing one or more ACEs, and one in five experienced four or more ACEs.

  • About the CDC-Kaiser ACE Study |Violence Prevention|Injury Center|CDC

    The original ACE study was conducted at Kaiser Permanente from 1995 to 1997 with two waves of data collection. Over 17,000 Health Maintenance Organization members from Southern California receiving physical exams completed confidential surveys regarding their childhood experiences and current ...

gov.wales
ucanr.edu
txicfw.socialwork.utexas.edu
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study: The evidence behind what we know - Texas Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing

    Today, the knowledge clinicians have carried for decades about trauma has emerged in discussions in public health, medicine and education in the forms of trauma-informed practices and research on childhood trauma, toxic stress and ACEs. The impetus for these discussions lies with a study that, like our knowledge base, is not new. In the late 1990s, researchers at the Center for Disease Control and Kaiser Permanente in Southern California[1] were able to provide very compelling evidence that childhood trauma and instability impact health outcomes. They surveyed 17,000 primarily white, middle-class adults. Each person indicated whether any of the ten adverse experiences occurred in his or her childhood.

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