The ACE Study was a research study performed by Kaiser from 1995-1997 to analyze how ACE’s (or Adverse Childhood Events) could affect individuals as adults later in life. For this study, adults took a survey with a variety of questions about their childhood and were scored based on how many ACE’s they had before the age of 18. The higher the score, the more at-risk the individual was to have mental illnesses, addiction issues, physical illnesses, etc.

Soft White Underbelly has had me referring back to this study on several occasions because it’s clear to see the research playing out in each of Mark’s interviews.

I really think that this research should be more widely acknowledged and just wanted to share a link to the CDC page concerning the study if you’re interested. Having this knowledge has helped me to better understand my friends, family, peers, patients (I work in healthcare), and even myself. I highly encourage you to take a look or even take the survey yourself! Have a great day :)

https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/index.html

Unfortunately the ACES was formulated with mostly white suburban clients. There is an updated version available now, taking into account the diversity of our society. I use ACE in my work as a counselor and do my best to make it culturally competent.

I agree it’s a powerful tool!!!

It would be cool if Mark used it in his work, maybe have the interviewees self administer the test before the talk