Note: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potential traumatic experiences that occur in childhood when one is younger than 18 years old. Their effects on health, behavior, and well-being can be long-lived. Those early experiences of trauma will most likely come under three categories:
- Abuse: physical, emotional, or sexual harm.
- Neglect: caregivers neglect emotional or physical needs.
- Household Dysfunction: being raised in an environment with substance misuse, psychological disorders, domestic abuse, parental separation or divorce, or imprisonment of a family member.
Note: The area examined in this study includes Southeast region states from the U.S. Census Bureau. However, the U.S. Census Bureau’s is a combined list of the South Atlantic and East, South-Central divisions. For the purpose of this research, I will focus on the following Southeast region states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia (U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.).