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Traumatic Events Experienced by US Youth

When Soules collected the cards and reviewed the results,
he was stunned. Out of thirty-four students in one class, twenty-
two reported three or more ACEs, and twelve had six or more.
“Way higher than what I expected or what the national averages
indicate,” he says. He was equally taken aback at the results
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from his second class. Again, twenty-two students had three or
more ACEs, and four had eight or more. This led to an open and
honest discussion about the students’ lives, with one girl say-
ing that people see her only as an excellent student who takes
AP classes but really know nothing about her. Soules heard one
heart-wrenching story after another. “I tried to listen and let them
talk while I was on the edge of tears as they told their stories,” he
Hard to get by on 25.5%
income says. “I couldn’t help thinking, and these are the AP students who
are doing well. How many other students are there who are not
Parent or guardian 25%
divorced or separated feeling any success?” 7
By far, says Soules, the most common question from the stu-
Lived with someone
who had a drug or 9% dents after this exercise was why society has allowed childhood
alcohol problem trauma to become such a serious, widespread problem. “They

Parent or guardian spent 8.2% are right,” he says. “We need to do something about the trauma
time in jail or prison our children are experiencing. . . . It is a public health issue. It is a
moral issue. We need to pull back the curtain and deal with this
Lived with someone
who is mentally ill, 7.8% crisis in an open way.” 8
suicidal, or depressed
Saw or heard violence Geographical Variations
5.7%
in the home
Although traumatic experiences affect children and adolescents
Victim or witness of 3.9% in every US state, studies have revealed differences based on
neighborhood violence
where they live. Child Trends researchers found that Arkansas
Treated/judged unfairly has the most cases of childhood trauma, with 56 percent of chil-
due to race or ethnicity 3.7%
dren experiencing at least one traumatic incident during 2016.
The lowest number of ACEs was in Minnesota, where 37 percent
Death of parent or 3.3%
guardian of children experienced at least one during 2016.
Research has also detected regional differences in the chil-
dren who have endured multiple traumatic incidents—and un-
surprisingly, those children’s risk for negative health outcomes is
Source: C.D. Bethell et al., “Adverse Childhood Experiences Among US Children,” Child & Adolescent Health signifi cantly higher than children with one ACE. As Sacks and her
Measurement Initiative, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, October 2017. www.cahmi.org.

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