11 items · 3 min · 18+

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Test

Some experiences before 18 stay with us — difficulties at home, how the adults around us treated us. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) questions come from a U.S. CDC public-health survey and ask about 11 kinds of experience, counted into 8 categories. It takes about 3 minutes and gives you an ACE count from 0 to 8 with gentle next steps. It asks about abuse, including sexual abuse; you can choose 'Prefer not to answer' on any question. For adults 18 and over.

11 questionsAbout 3 minutesConfidential

Scientific background: Source: CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Module (11 items, 8 ACE categories); scoring per Swedo EA et al., MMWR 2023;72:707–715. Felitti VJ et al., Am J Prev Med 1998;14(4):245–258. The questionnaire is available free of charge on the CDC website. Use of this material does not imply endorsement by CDC, HHS or the U.S. Government of Treehole Hong Kong or its services. Chinese: Treehole Hong Kong's own translation, not psychometrically validated (樹洞香港自行翻譯，未經心理計量驗證). Learn more

Start the test

This test is for reference only and is not a diagnosis. The ACE questions are from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) BRFSS ACE module (Source: CDC); the original questionnaire is available free of charge on the CDC website. Our use of it does not imply endorsement by the CDC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the U.S. Government. If you are in danger now, call 999.

Before you start

This questionnaire asks about difficult experiences before age 18, including physical, emotional and sexual abuse and violence at home. Reading these questions can bring up strong feelings.

It is for adults aged 18 or over.
You can choose 'Prefer not to answer' on any question, and you can stop at any time.
Take it somewhere private, at a time when you have a little space afterwards.
If you are not safe right now, or a child is being harmed now, please call 999.

If you need to talk to someone now:

The Samaritans Hong Kong (24-hour)2896 0000
RainLily — sexual violence support2375 5322
Social Welfare Department hotline2343 2255
Against Child Abuse — if a child is at risk now2755 1122
Emergency services999

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Frequently asked questions

What is the ACE questionnaire?

ACE stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences. The idea comes from the CDC–Kaiser Permanente ACE Study (Felitti et al., 1998), which found that the more categories of abuse and household difficulty people had experienced as children, the higher their risk of many adult health problems. This page uses the 11-question ACE module from the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a large U.S. public-health survey; the answers are counted into 8 categories to give an ACE count of 0 to 8. This is the 8-category version used in the BRFSS surveys analysed for 2011–2020 (Swedo et al., 2023); it does not ask about neglect or other kinds of adversity.

How long does it take? Is it free?

There are 11 questions and most people finish in about 3 minutes. The test is free and no account is needed to see your result; creating one is optional.

How is the ACE count worked out?

Following the CDC's BRFSS coding, each of 8 categories counts once if you answered 'Yes', 'Once' or 'More than once': household mental illness, household substance use (the alcohol and drug questions together), a household member in prison, parental separation or divorce, violence between adults at home, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse (the three sexual-abuse questions together). 'Don't know', 'Prefer not to answer' and 'Parents not married' are not counted.

What does a count of 4 or more mean?

In ACE research, 4 or more categories is the usual marker of high exposure: at the population level it is linked with higher risk of a range of physical and mental health difficulties. It is not a diagnosis and it cannot predict what will happen to any one person. If these experiences still affect you, talking with a clinical psychologist can help you understand them and find a way forward; see our clinical psychology service or psychotherapy service. If you are in crisis, call the Samaritans 24-hour hotline on 2896 0000.

Can this test tell me whether I have trauma or PTSD?

No. The ACE questions record whether certain experiences happened; they do not measure how you are feeling now or diagnose anything. If you are troubled by memories, nightmares or strong reactions, the ITQ trauma test looks at current symptoms, and a professional can assess them with you.

What if something is happening to a child now?

If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. You can also call the Social Welfare Department hotline on 2343 2255, or Against Child Abuse on 2755 1122, for advice.

Are my answers confidential? Do I need an account?

Your answers may be used for research; aggregated results may be published online or in academic journals. Your personal data stays confidential. The test is free and no account is needed to see your result; creating one is optional. Your answers to individual questions are not shown on the shareable result card.

Before you start

This questionnaire asks about difficult experiences before age 18, including physical, emotional and sexual abuse and violence at home. Reading these questions can bring up strong feelings.

It is for adults aged 18 or over.

You can choose 'Prefer not to answer' on any question, and you can stop at any time.

Take it somewhere private, at a time when you have a little space afterwards.

If you are not safe right now, or a child is being harmed now, please call 999.

If you need to talk to someone now:

The Samaritans Hong Kong (24-hour)2896 0000
RainLily — sexual violence support2375 5322
Social Welfare Department hotline2343 2255
Against Child Abuse — if a child is at risk now2755 1122
Emergency services999

Frequently asked questions

What is the ACE questionnaire?

How long does it take? Is it free?

There are 11 questions and most people finish in about 3 minutes. The test is free and no account is needed to see your result; creating one is optional.

How is the ACE count worked out?

What does a count of 4 or more mean?

Can this test tell me whether I have trauma or PTSD?

What if something is happening to a child now?

If a child is in immediate danger, call 999. You can also call the Social Welfare Department hotline on 2343 2255, or Against Child Abuse on 2755 1122, for advice.

Are my answers confidential? Do I need an account?

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Test

Before you start

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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Test

Before you start

Related tests

PTSD & CPTSD Trauma Test (ITQ)

Rejection Sensitivity Test (A-RSQ)

MSPSS Social Support Test

Frequently asked questions