Are Adverse Childhood Experiences Associated With Deficits in Self-Control? A Test Among Two Independent Samples of Youth

A large body of research links both a lack of self-control and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) to a variety of negative health and behavior outcomes, including delinquent and criminal behavior. To date, relatively little research considers whether experiencing a greater variety of ACEs is assoc...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Meldrum, Ryan Charles (Author)
Contributors: Campion Young, Brae ; Copp, Jennifer E. ; Hay, Carter ; Kernsmith, Poco D. ; Smith-Darden, Joanne P. ; Soor, Sadhika ; Trace, Madison
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2020
In: Criminal justice and behavior
Year: 2020, Volume: 47, Issue: 2, Pages: 166-186
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Keywords:
Adverse Childhood Experiences
Department of Juvenile Justice
Florida
Maltreatment
Self-control
Supporting Healthy Adolescent Relationships and Environments study
household dysfunction
Description
Summary:A large body of research links both a lack of self-control and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) to a variety of negative health and behavior outcomes, including delinquent and criminal behavior. To date, relatively little research considers whether experiencing a greater variety of ACEs is associated with lower self-control. We advance this area of research by first articulating potential mechanisms through which ACEs may impact self-control. We then investigate whether experiencing more ACEs is inversely associated with self-control in separate samples of youth from Michigan and Florida. For both samples, results indicate that experiencing a greater variety of ACEs is negatively associated with self-control. Exploratory analyses also indicate that ACEs reflecting interpersonal maltreatment are more strongly associated with deficits in self-control than ACEs pertaining to aspects of household dysfunction.
ISSN:1552-3594
DOI:10.1177/0093854819879741