Childhood PTSD Questionnaire

When we look back on our childhoods and ask “was it really that bad?” we often compare ourselves to extremes — and miss what actually shaped us. The CDC-Kaiser ACE study is invaluable, but its questions tend to capture only the most severe cases. Many people with low ACE scores still carry real childhood PTSD: intimacy problems, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, addictions, perfectionism, hypervigilance — symptoms that don’t go away on their own.
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This 60-question questionnaire is designed to catch what the ACE often misses: the tricky family. The household that looked normal on paper — food, education, housing, things basically working — but was deceivingly emotionally dysfunctional underneath. An emotionally shut-down parent. A neurotic, depressed, or untreated-trauma parent. Major elephants in the room. Toxic intimacy between caregivers. A child whose feelings were never made room for.

For each question, you mark Yes, No, or Maybe (treat a Maybe as a half-yes), and there’s a notes line for examples. Apply each question to the course of your lifetime — even resolved issues count, because they’re part of your story. Count your Yeses at the end. More than 10 points to childhood work worth exploring with a therapist. Scoring high on this questionnaire is very common — the score isn’t a verdict, it’s information.

Use it on your own to start naming patterns you’ve carried for a long time, or bring it into therapy as a starting point with someone who understands childhood PTSD.

Download the free questionnaire

A printable, fillable PDF with all 60 questions, scoring guide, and reflection prompts. Drop your email below to get it.