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For years, childhood trauma has often been measured with a simple score. The widely used adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, system assigns points for experiences such as abuse, neglect, parental divorce, substance abuse in the home and other adversities before age 18. In general, the higher the score, the greater the risk for future health and behavioral problems.

But new research from Iowa State University professors Carl F. Weems and Amie Zarling suggests that score may not tell the whole story.

In a study published in the Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, Weems and Zarling surveyed 552 adults on probation or parole in Iowa and found that the specific types of adversity people experience in childhood may be just as impactful as the total number of hardships they face.

"The question isn't simply how much adversity someone experienced growing up, but what kind, what they remember and report, and which patterns they experienced," said Weems, professor of human development and family studies at Iowa State.

Weems said different experiences can shape people's lives in different ways and may require more individualized responses from the systems designed to help them, adding that "how people respond, report and remember this past is also shaped by what and how you ask them."

The ACEs framework emerged from landmark research in the 1990s and includes 10 categories of adversity, ranging from physical abuse and neglect to parental separation, household substance abuse and mental illness.

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