The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Trauma and Adversity—A Transformative Guide to Understanding Childhood Trauma and Health

by Nadine Burke Harris

Emotional abuse (recurrent) Physical abuse (recurrent) Sexual abuse (contact) Physical neglect Emotional neglect Substance abuse in the household (e.g., living with an alcoholic or a person with a substance-abuse problem) Mental illness in the household (e.g., living with someone who suffered from depression or mental illness or who had attempted suicide) Mother treated violently Divorce or parental separation Criminal behavior in household (e.g., a household member going to prison) Each category of abuse, neglect, or dysfunction experienced counted as one point. Because there were ten categories, the highest possible ACE score was ten.