RT Article
T1 Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adolescent Delinquency in a High-Risk Sample: aComparison of White and Black Youth
JF Youth violence and juvenile justice
VO 16
IS 4
SP 395
OP 417
A1 Fagan, Abigail A.
A2 Novak, Abigail
LA English
YR 2018
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1744856680
AB Research shows that adverse events experienced during childhood (i.e., adverse childhood experiences [ACEs]) are problematic, but few studies have examined race differences in the prevalence and impact of ACEs on delinquency. This study investigated these relationships using prospective data from approximately 600 high-risk families in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect. Ten ACEs were measured, five types of child maltreatment and five types of household dysfunction. White youth experienced a significantly greater number of ACEs (4.08) compared to Black youth (2.90) and a greater prevalence of seven individual ACEs. According to logistic regression analyses, the number of ACEs significantly increased the likelihood of self-reported alcohol use, marijuana use, violence (in some models), and arrest at age 16 among Blacks but not Whites; race differences were statistically significant for alcohol use, marijuana use, and arrest. The findings support the need for juvenile justice officials to recognize the trauma histories of youth offenders when determining appropriate treatment and sanctions.
K1 Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
K1 Delinquency
K1 Race/ethnicity
K1 Substance Use
DO 10.1177/1541204017735568