In: Psychology
Reflect on taking the ACE questionnaires . How do your results compare to those of the general population? How do your results compare to those working in the behavioral health field, who on average have more “ACEs” than the general population?
Knowing that re-enactment of traumatic situations is a common phenomenon, how might your history impact your current or future work in this field?
The Adverse Childhood Experiences test or ACEsTest has shown a high possibility for a direct relationship between traumatic experiences during childhood and the development of health and social problems across the lifespan. Within the general American population, the ACEs scores have shown a strong and graded relationship to numerous health, social, and behavioral problems throughout their lifespan, including substance use disorders, smoking, risk of cancer, etc.
moreover, the general population shows an increase in the number of ACEs which strongly associated with adulthood high-risk health behaviors such as promiscuity, and severe obesity, and ill-health including depression, heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease and shortened lifespan. When I compare my own ACE scores against the general population, I found that my low score of 3 on the ACE scales is related to my lower risk for maladaptive behaviours and chronic diseases. My low scores on scales for Physical abuse, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, exposure to domestic violence, indicate that I had a relatively secure and satisfactory childhood where I felt adequately gratified for most of my growth needs. Thus, in a way, the low score on ACE accounts for the meanings that I draw from interpersonal engagements with others in society. However, compared to my own ACE score is the relatively higher scores of professionals working the behavioural health field. This indicates that licensed healthcare professionals who have substance use and/or mental health disorders are more likely to have had multiple adverse childhood experiences and their own traumatic past may perhaps make them increasingly sensitive and open to working with others in order to help them overcome their emotional difficulties.
Thus, the high correlations between ACEs and risk for chronic health problems point towards a crucial trajectory of personal resilience and stress as having secure and supportive environment may help to cushion the impact of states of deprivation in the initial years of life and these may thus help one to minimise the influence of such adverse childhood experiences on healthy development in the later phases of one’s life.