TABLE 3. Prevalence of individual adverse childhood experiences among adults, by sociodemographic characteristics — Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United States, 2011–2020.
| Characteristic | Total no.*, unweighted | Weighted % (95% CI) | Emotional† | Physical | Sexual§ | ACE category, weighted % (95% CI) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Witnessed intimate partner violence | Household substance use¶ | Household mental illness | Parental separation or divorce† | Incarcerated household member | ||||||
|
Total
|
264,882
|
NA
|
NA
|
23.3 (22.8–23.8)
|
12.6 (12.2–13.0)
|
17.2 (16.8–17.7)
|
26.5 (26.0–27.0)
|
17.3 (16.9–17.7)
|
28.4 (27.9–28.9)
|
8.6 (8.3-9)
|
|
Sex (missing = 20)
| ||||||||||
| Female |
149,565
|
52.0 (51.4–52.5) |
34.0 (33.3–34.7) |
22.7 (22.0–23.3) |
17.7 (17.1–18.3) |
18.1 (17.5–18.7) |
27.9 (27.2–28.5) |
19.9 (19.4–20.5) |
28.4 (27.7–29.1) |
8.1 (7.6–8.5) |
| Male |
115,297
|
47.5 (47.4–48.5) |
34.0 (33.2–34.8) |
24.0 (23.3–24.7) |
7.0 (6.6–7.4) |
16.3 (15.7–16.9) |
25.0 (24.3–25.7) |
14.4 (13.8–14.9) |
28.4 (27.7–29.1) |
9.3 (8.7–9.8) |
|
Age group, yrs (missing = 2,961)
| ||||||||||
| 18–24 |
13,483
|
11.9 (11.5–12.4) |
43.1 (41.3–45.0) |
23.0 (21.4–24.6) |
11.5 (10.2–12.8) |
16.9 (15.6–18.3) |
27.5 (25.9–29.2) |
27.0 (25.5–28.6) |
36.5 (34.8–38.2) |
15.4 (14.0–16.7) |
| 25–34 |
23,731
|
16.1 (15.6–16.5) |
42.5 (40.9–44.0) |
25.5 (24.1–27.0) |
13.1 (12.1–14.2) |
21.7 (20.3–23.0) |
31.9 (30.4–33.3) |
25.6 (24.3–26.8) |
40.2 (38.7–41.7) |
15.7 (14.5–16.9) |
| 35–44 |
31,113
|
16.0 (15.6–16.45) |
36.3 (34.9–37.8) |
25.3 (23.9–26.7) |
13.4 (12.5–14.3) |
19.2 (18.1–20.3) |
28.6 (27.3–29.9) |
19.5 (18.3–20.7) |
35.2 (33.8–36.6) |
10.2 (9.2–11.2) |
| 45–54 |
40,962
|
16.2 (15.8–16.6) |
35.7 (34.4–36.9) |
25.4 (24.2–26.7) |
15.9 (14.8–16.9) |
19.3 (18.2–20.4) |
28.3 (27.1–29.5) |
16.0 (15.0–16.9) |
29.1 (27.9–30.2) |
6.9 (6.1–7.7) |
| 55–64 |
55,571
|
17.1 (16.7–17.4) |
31.8 (30.7–32.9) |
23.9 (22.8–25.0) |
12.9 (12.2–13.6) |
17.1 (16.2–18.0) |
26.8 (25.8–27.9) |
13.5 (12.8–14.2) |
22.3 (21.4–23.3) |
5.2 (4.7–5.7) |
| ≥65 |
97,061
|
22.1 (21.7–22.5) |
21.6 (20.8–22.5) |
18.5 (17.7–19.2) |
9.4 (8.8–10.0) |
11.3 (10.6–12.1) |
18.9 (18.2–19.6) |
8.0 (7.5–8.5) |
14.6 (13.9–15.2) |
2.6 (2.3–2.8) |
|
Race and ethnicity (missing = 6,940)
| ||||||||||
| AI/AN, non-Hispanic |
4,256
|
1.0 (0.9–1.1) |
42.1 (37.5–46.8) |
31.9 (27.2–36.7) |
18.8 (16.2–21.5) |
29.9 (25.3–34.4) |
44.5 (39.9–49.1) |
26.3 (21.3–31.2) |
42.0 (37.4–46.6) |
17.3 (14.5–20.1) |
| Asian, non-Hispanic |
5,199
|
4.8 (4.4–5.2) |
27.9 (23.9–31.9) |
20.8 (17.1–24.4) |
7.5 (5.2–9.8) |
15.5 (11.6–19.3) |
10.7 (7.8–13.6) |
8.8 (6.3–11.3) |
11.5 (9.0–14.1) |
3.6 (1.5–5.7) |
| Black or African American, non-Hispanic |
18,558
|
11.0 (10.7–11.3) |
30.5 (29.1–32.0) |
22.5 (21.2–23.9) |
14.6 (13.5–15.6) |
20.4 (19.1–21.7) |
24.2 (22.9–25.4) |
11.9 (10.9–12.8) |
41.7 (40.2–43.3) |
14.2 (13.2–15.2) |
| NH/OPI, non-Hispanic |
876
|
0.2 (0.2–0.2) |
38.8 (29.5–48.1) |
30.1 (20.6–39.6) |
21.2 (11.4–30.9) |
27.3 (17.5–37.1) |
30.4 (20.8–39.9) |
17.2 (9.5–24.9) |
27.3 (20.6–34.1) |
10.5 (6.8–14.3) |
| White, non-Hispanic |
205,306
|
63.2 (62.6–63.8) |
34.9 (34.4–35.5) |
21.4 (20.9–21.9) |
12.0 (11.7–12.4) |
15.3 (14.9–15.7) |
27.9 (27.4–28.4) |
19.5 (19.0–20.0) |
26.2 (25.7–26.7) |
7.5 (7.1–7.8) |
| Hispanic or Latino |
16,995
|
15.9 (15.4–16.4) |
32.2 (30.3–34.0) |
30.1 (28.2–31.9) |
13.3 (11.9–14.7) |
21.3 (19.8–22.9) |
25.2 (23.6–26.9) |
12.5 (11.3–13.7) |
30.7 (28.9–32.4) |
9.5 (8.4–10.7) |
| Multiracial, non-Hispanic |
5,105
|
1.4 (1.3–1.5) |
48.0 (43.5–52.4) |
31.5 (27.7–35.3) |
21.6 (18.1–25.1) |
25.4 (21.8–29.1) |
37.9 (33.7–42.1) |
31.6 (27.3–36.0) |
40.4 (36.1–44.6) |
17.5 (14.0–21.1) |
| Other race, non-Hispanic |
1,647
|
0.4 (0.4–0.5) |
42.8 (35.2–50.4) |
35.6 (27.5–43.7) |
16.4 (11.6–21.1) |
21.8 (16.8–26.8) |
26.0 (20.1–31.8) |
19.0 (13.3–24.6) |
29.3 (23.3–35.3) |
10.1 (5.4–14.7) |
|
Household income USD (missing = 39,409)
| ||||||||||
| <$15,000 |
18,902
|
8.2 (7.8–8.5) |
35.8 (33.7–38.0) |
31.0 (28.9–33.2) |
19.1 (17.5–20.8) |
24.8 (22.8–26.8) |
30.6 (28.7–32.6) |
18.6 (17.2–20.0) |
33.9 (31.9–35.9) |
12.4 (11.0–13.7) |
| $15,000–$24,999 |
34,874
|
13.1 (12.7–13.4) |
34.1 (32.8–35.4) |
27.3 (26–28.6) |
15.5 (14.5–16.4) |
21.1 (20.0–22.2) |
29.8 (28.5–31.0) |
17.8 (16.8–18.8) |
34.2 (32.9–35.6) |
11.4 (10.5–12.2) |
| $25,000–$34,999 |
23,665
|
8.3 (8.0–8.6) |
34.5 (32.7–36.3) |
26.3 (24.6–28.0) |
15.3 (13.6–17.1) |
20.0 (18.6–21.4) |
29.3 (27.8–30.9) |
18.1 (16.7–19.5) |
32.8 (31.0–34.6) |
10.3 (9.2–11.3) |
| $35,000–$49,999 |
32,252
|
11.1 (10.8–11.4) |
34.5 (33.0–35.9) |
23.7 (22.4–25.1) |
15.3 (13.6–17.1) |
17.7 (16.6–18.7) |
27.4 (26.0–28.8) |
18.6 (17.5–19.8) |
29.1 (27.7–30.5) |
10.0 (9.0–11.0) |
| >$50,000 |
115,780
|
44.9 (44.3–45.4) |
35.2 (34.4–36.1) |
21.3 (20.5–22.0) |
10.8 (10.3–11.3) |
15.6 (14.9–16.3) |
25.7 (24.9–26.4) |
17.4 (16.7–18.1) |
25.5 (24.8–26.3) |
7.1 (6.5–7.6) |
|
Education level (missing = 584)
| ||||||||||
| Less than high school |
16,944
|
12.3 (11.9–12.7) |
29.8 (28.1–31.6) |
29.2 (27.4–31.1) |
14.6 (13.2–16.0) |
22.3 (20.7–23.8) |
29.0 (27.3–30.7) |
13.3 (12.2–14.4) |
32.2 (30.5–34.0) |
11.9 (10.8–13.0) |
| High school diploma or GED |
71,799
|
27.6 (27.1–28.1) |
32.6 (31.6–33.6) |
23.5 (22.6–24.5) |
11.9 (11.3–12.6) |
17.9 (17.1–18.8) |
28.3 (27.3–29.2) |
16.0 (15.2–16.8) |
32.3 (31.3–33.3) |
10.5 (9.8–11.3) |
| Some college |
74,362
|
31.0 (30.5–31.5) |
38.2 (37.2–39.2) |
24.8 (23.9–25.7) |
14.4 (13.7–15.2) |
18.6 (17.8–19.4) |
29.2 (28.3–30.1) |
20.5 (19.7–21.3) |
30.5 (29.6–31.4) |
9.4 (8.8–10.1) |
| College degree |
101,193
|
28.8 (28.4–29.3) |
32.8 (31.9–33.6) |
19.0 (18.2–19.7) |
10.4 (9.9–10.9) |
13.0 (12.4–13.7) |
21.0 (20.4–21.7) |
16.7 (16.1–17.3) |
20.9 (20.1–21.6) |
4.6 (4.2–5.0) |
|
Employment status (missing = 1,484)
| ||||||||||
| Employed |
130,794
|
55.4 (54.8–55.9) |
35.7 (35.0–36.4) |
23.1 (22.5–23.8) |
11.6 (11.1–12.1) |
17.4 (16.8–17.9) |
27.5 (26.8–28.1) |
18.2 (17.6–18.7) |
31.0 (30.3–31.7) |
9.4 (8.9–9.9) |
| Unable to work |
17,833
|
6.5 (6.2–6.7) |
40.1 (38.3–41.9) |
33.1 (31.3–34.9) |
23.5 (22.0–25.0) |
26.0 (24.4–27.6) |
37.1 (35.4–38.9) |
24.2 (22.6–25.7) |
37.1 (35.3–38.9) |
13.8 (12.4–15.2) |
| Unemployed |
12,470
|
6.7 (6.4–7.1) |
43.8 (41.3–46.3) |
32.0 (29.5–34.6) |
16.7 (15.1–18.4) |
24.2 (22.0–26.5) |
32.4 (30.1–34.7) |
23.1 (21.1–25.0) |
39.0 (36.6–41.5) |
15.1 (13.2–16.9) |
| Other | 102,301 | 30.7 (30.2–31.2) | 27.7 (26.7–28.6) | 19.7 (18.9–20.6) | 11.2 (10.4–11.9) | 13.7 (12.9–14.5) | 21.4 (20.6–22.2) | 13.0 (12.3–13.7) | 19.5 (18.8–20.3) | 4.8 (4.3–5.2) |
Abbreviations: ACE = adverse childhood experience; AI/AN = American Indian or Alaska Native; GED = general educational development certificate; NA = not applicable; NH/OPI = Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander; USD = U.S. dollars.
* For jurisdictions that included ACE questions in >1 year, the most recent year was included.
† New Hampshire did not include these questions on its survey.
§ Arkansas collapsed three sexual abuse questions into a single question; New Hampshire omitted two of the three sexual abuse questions. Arkansas’ sexual abuse question was worded, “How often did anyone at least 5 years older than you or an adult ever touch you sexually, try to make you touch them sexually, or force you to have sex?” New Hampshire only included one of the three sexual abuse questions, “How often did anyone at least 5 years older than you or an adult ever touch you sexually?”
¶ The Arkansas questionnaire combined household drug abuse and alcohol abuse questions into a single household substance abuse question, “Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic, or who used illegal street drugs or abused prescription medications?”