Adverse childhood experiences, mental health, and social functioning: A scoping review of the literature.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) negatively impact people's physical and mental health and social functioning. Research literature focuses on the impact of ACEs on physical and mental health, yet to our knowledge, no study has examined the literature on ACEs, mental health, and social functioning outcomes.

Objective: To map how ACEs, mental health, and social functioning outcomes have been defined, assessed, and studied in the empirical literature and identify gaps in the current research which need further investigation.