The ACEs module consists of 11 questions derived from the CDC’s ACEs study investigating adverse events in childhood before the age of 18 [26]. The survey questions fall into eight adversity domains including emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, intimate partner violence (IPV), household substance use, household mental illness, parental separation/divorce, and household members who are incarcerated. The responses were dichotomized and summed, thus creating an ACE score range of 0 to 8 (higher scores indicating greater exposure to adverse events). Ford and colleagues offer an in-depth description of the BRFSS ACE module, factorial structure, and calculated ACE scores [27].
