In addition, when other childhood adversities (not considered in the ACE studies) were added to the model (model 2 of Table 1), several
ACE scale items dropped below significance.
However, the original
ACE scale items did not each make an independent contribution to distress as illustrated in model 1 of Table 1.
However, this analysis also confirms that some of the key
ACE scale items, particularly the child maltreatment exposures, remain very important and make discrete independent contributions, even when many other adversities are considered.
Not exact matches
The
ACE scale constructed with variables from NatSCEV that mimic the original
items is associated with distress levels among youth aged 10 to 17 years, as measured by the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children.
Much of the discussion about the
ACE scale assumes that its
items are causal contributors to the numerous negative adult outcomes, but this may not be the case.
Model 1 in Table 1 reports the regression of distress scores on the
items from the replicated
ACE scale.
A revised
ACE scale was then constructed, removing the original
items that were no longer significant in the extended model.