Childhood Trauma/ACE Test

​Your upbringing follows you long after you have left your childhood home.  Being exposed to large amounts of stress as a child has been found by psychologists to have a direct link to negative behavioral patterns later in life.  Although the circumstances we grow up in are completely out of our control, we must take accountability for our actions in the present, and find ways to channel strength with God, in order move forward as stronger and better versions of ourselves. 

If our pasts are filled with parental figures who did not behave in our best interests, loved ones who abused our right to a safe childhood, or other events which we were too young and impressionable to properly process, your ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience) score will most likely be extremely high. 

Childhood trauma makes people very self protective. This behavior negatively affects one's ability to make personal connections. Childhood trauma can manifest itself as fear, guilt, anxiety and anger during adulthood, but the most common is disconnection.  Constantly putting energy into assuming the worst in others is an emotionally draining pattern of self destructiveness.   Trauma also discourages us from asking or accepting help that comes our way.   In order to be the best version of ourselves we must be able to trust mankind, and expect the best out of those we allow around us.  A relationship with God can teach you trust and help you find perseverance.

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The ACE test is a series of questions designed by psychologists to determine the level of childhood trauma one has experienced. The higher a person’s ACE score, the more susceptible they are to seeking out vices like drugs and alcohol and developing mental illnesses.  These vices serve as temporary coping mechanisms to bandage stress, since high ACE scores hinder coping abilities.   The extreme likelihood of substance abuse puts those with high ACE scores at a much greater chance of developing health problems later in life which later results in premature death.

​Although a tough childhood can severely affect our ability to make close relationships, getting to know God is a relationship that has endless rewards and is a great place to start if you feel you’re in a pattern self induced isolation. God gives us strength and can help us shed our angry exteriors and allow us to see the world as a place of possibilities and not just an obstacle course of hardships.  Once God changes our outlook, the wounds of our past will in time heal, and in the place of these wounds, scars will form which show our strength, perseverance and just how far you’ve come.

​The ACE test scores were created by the National Institute Of Trauma and Resilience Efforts in an attempt to better understand the lingering effects of trauma.  Even if you don’t consider yourself to have had a tough childhood, the test is certainly eye opening, and the average American will score a 2.  If you’re a parent, think about how your child would answer the questions, please take a moment to ask yourself if you’re providing them with a home-life that's going to set them up to be the best versions of themselves later in life.  

If you would like to take the test for yourself or share it with some one you love, click the button below.

ACE Test

Emily Fossick is a former marketing intern that spent some at New Beginnings.  She is a student at UWM and was always willing to help out and provide some excellent insight.

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