The ACES test that we use in California screens for ten forms of childhood trauma – five personal, five familial.
Personal traumas:
- Physical abuse
- Verbal abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Physical neglect
- Emotional neglect
Familial traumas:
- Addiction
- Domestic violence
- Incarcerated family member
- Mental illness
- Divorce or abandonment
The ACES test is scored one through ten, with each type of trauma experienced counting as one point. So an individual with an alcoholic father and an early-life history of verbal abuse and emotional neglect would score three on the ACES screening.