Item Development and Preliminary Validation of the Variability in Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale (VACE)

This study presents initial item development and psychometric evaluation of the Variability in Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale (VACE), a frequency-based modification of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale (The ACE Scale; Felitti et al., 1998) designed to address limitations of binary scoring by capturing the frequency of adversity exposure within established ACE domains. Undergraduate and community participants (N = 370) completed the VACE, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), and measures of depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and substance use. Psychometric evaluation included internal consistency, test-retest reliability across a two-week interval, exploratory factor analysis, convergent validity, and incremental predictive validity using hierarchical regression analyses. Internal consistency was acceptable (α = 0.79) and test-retest reliability was good (ICC = 0.66, 95% CI [0.40, 0.84], p < .001). Exploratory factor analysis supported a two-factor structure reflecting Direct and Interpersonal Adversity and Community and Contextual Adversity (r = .56), consistent with the multidimensional nature of childhood adversity. The VACE was significantly correlated with the CTQ-SF (r = .76, p < .001), supporting convergent validity. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that VACE frequency scores explained significant incremental variance in depressive symptoms (ΔR² = 0.042, p < .001), perceived stress (ΔR² = 0.056, p < .001), and substance use (ΔR² = 0.021, p = .004) beyond traditional binary ACE scoring. These findings provide preliminary psychometric support for frequency-based adversity measurement as a complement to existing ACE frameworks. The VACE retains compatibility with established ACE scoring while offering dimensional precision that may better capture dose-response relationships between adversity and health outcomes. Replication in more diverse samples and longitudinal validation are warranted.