What is the difference between a Traumatic Event and an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE)?

• The term Adverse Childhood Experience came out of a study in 1998 that impacted the health care and mental health care world significantly often referred to as the ACES study (Feletti et al., 1998).
  • You can find as much information as you would like about the study at https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/about.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fviolenceprevention%2Facestudy%2Fabout.html (Links to an external site.)
• The study determined that experiencing adverse childhood experiences from an early age lead to a number of health consequences later in life.

• The study identified the following as ACES:

• • Abuse: Physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse
  • Neglect: Physical and emotional neglect
  • Household Dysfunction: Caregiver who has mental illness, mother treated violently (e.g., Domestic Violence), incarcerated relative, and parental substance abuse in the home
• The study did not include traumatic loss, separation, bereavement, sexual and physical assault, community violence, serious medical trauma, accidents, fires, natural disasters, war, terrorism, school violence, racial trauma, bullying, etc.
• It is just important to note that the ACES study taught a lot about the health consequences associated with exposure to early adversity, however, it did not look at every type of trauma exposure. Being clear about what we mean when we talk about ACES is important, which is why there are often other terms such as child traumatic stress or child trauma that are used.
  • For another presentation that helps illustrate these points, go to: http://www.canarratives.org/ (Links to an external site.)

• There are several main categories or types of trauma that are important to know about:
  • Acute trauma-A single traumatic event that lasts for a short time (for example- car accident, dog bite, tornado).
  • Chronic trauma-When multiple traumatic events occur, usually over a long period of time (for example-multiple incidents of sexual abuse, ongoing witnessing of domestic violence).
  • Complex trauma-This is a specific type of chronic trauma that includes experiencing multiple traumatic events from a young age and usually caused by adults who were supposed to care for and protect the child
    • One NCTSN site created a film to have youth share with other youth about the definition and impact of complex trauma: https://www.nctsn.org/resources/never-give-complex-trauma-film-youth-youth (Links to an external site.) (start at 2:00 and end at 6:25)
  • Neglect-The failure for a caregiver to provide for a child’s basic needs. It is considered a trauma especially for an infant or young child who is completely dependent on adults. Neglect can also increase the likelihood of exposure to other types of traumatic events
  • Historical trauma-Personal or historical event(s) or prolonged experience(s) that continues to have an impact over several generations. (for example-slavery, removal from homelands or relocation, forced placement in boarding schools, massacres, genocides, or ethnocides)
  • Systemic Oppression-The mistreatment of people within a specific group, supported and enforced by society and its institutions. These are not usually acute events, but often ongoing. This mistreatment is usually based on personal identify or belonging to an oppressed group and includes discrimination, micro-aggressions, gender-based discrimination, and health disparities