What I Didn’t Know About ACEs: The Link Between Childhood Trauma and Adult Gun Ownership
I thought I knew all there is to know about ACEs (adverse childhood experiences). I was wrong.
I just read that gun ownership in adulthood becomes increasingly likely as the number of ACEs rises.
Last week, JAMA Network Open published a study with the following findings:
- Exposure to 2-3 ACEs = 89% more likely to be an adult gun owner.
- Exposure to 4+ ACEs = 112% more likely to be an adult gun owner.
- Exposure to illegal drug use in the home as a youth = 57% more likely to be an adult gun owner.
- Exposure to verbal abuse as a youth = 54% more likely to be an adult gun owner.
This is the first time researchers examined the relationship between childhood exposure to traumatic stress and owning a gun as an adult.
Previous research already showed that people exposed to ACEs were also more likely to be exposed to firearms as youth.
As a reminder, there are 10 ACEs generally considered in research:
- 3 types of abuse (physical, verbal, emotional)
- 2 types of neglect (physical, emotional)
- 5 types of family conditions (parental separation, incarcerated family member, domestic violence, family member with mental illness, family member with substance use disorder)
The original Kaiser study conducted in the late 1990’s demonstrated that the risk for physical or mental illness grew as the number of ACEs increased.
In other words:
More ACEs = higher risk for physical or mental illness
Exposure to childhood trauma is still underappreciated as a cause of health problems in adulthood.
