Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)

## Overview The Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) is an assessment tool developed by the World Health Organization. It measures exposure to childhood adversities including abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction. Targeted at individuals aged 18 and older, ACE-IQ is instrumental in evaluating the impact of adverse childhood experiences on later-life risk behaviors. The tool assists in highlighting the importance of and guiding the development of preventative interventions for childhood adversity.

## Instructions for Administering the Test Clinicians should access the 'Question-by-question' document for detailed guidance on each item within the ACE-IQ. Additionally, the 'Interviewer's guide' offers comprehensive instructions on administering the questionnaire. It is essential to refer to these documents for step-by-step guidance during the assessment. The quality of the ACE-IQ results and their usefulness for intra- and inter- country comparisons largely depends on the quality of the interviews. This section provides generic guidelines for interviewers. The ACE-IQ interview is about finding out and recording a list of facts and experiences relating to selected participants. The participant needs to feel comfortable about the survey and can refuse to be interviewed as participation is voluntary. Your interview should therefore be as natural as possible and conducted politely, like a normal conversation. Some of the questions being asked are very personal and so you should be sensitive to that - remember that there are services available to help participants who may be upset or want to seek help following the interview.

## Scoring Methodology Clinicians are directed to review supplementary material entitled 'Guidance for analyzing ACE-IQ'. [chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/documents/child-maltreatment/ace-iq-guidance-for-analysing.pdf?sfvrsn=adfe12bb_2] This guide contains the necessary instructions for scoring the responses properly.

## Citation(s) and/or Authors The ACE-IQ was created by the World Health Organization. A vital reference is “World Health Organization. Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2018.”