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Abstract
The study of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their negative repercussion on adult health outcomes is well documented. In a population of insured Californians, a dose-response relationship has been demonstrated among 10 ACEs and a host of chronic physical health, mental health, and behavioral outcomes. Less widely studied is the prevalence of these ACEs in the lives of juvenile offenders, and the effect of ACEs on children. This study examines the prevalenceof of ACEs in a population of 64,329 juvenile offenders in Florida. This article reports the prevalence of each ACE and assigns an ACE composite score across genders and a risk to reoffend level classification, and compares these with ACE studies conducted on adults. Analyses indicate offenders report disturbingly high rates of ACEs and have higher composite scores than previously examined populations. Policy implications underline the need to screen for and address ACEs as early as possible to prevent reoffending and other well-documented sequelae.
Keywords: juvenile offenders, prevention, victimization, maltreatment
Introduction
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) refer to the following 10 childhood experiences researchers have identified as risk factors for chronic disease in adulthood: emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, physical neglect, violent treatment towards mother, household substance abuse, household mental illness, parental separation or divorce, and having an incarcerated household member.
ACEs were first described in 1998 by Felitti, Anda and colleagues with the publication of the seminal study, "Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study" (Felitti et al., 1998). Through a prospective study co-piloted with Dr. Robert Anda of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including 17,421 insured, well-educated, adult patients, these researchers were able to identify the 10 childhood experiences, just mentioned, that positively correlate with chronic disease in adulthood (Stevens, 2012). While the prevalence of ACEs among this middle-class population shocked many at the time, ACEs have since been shown to have an even higher prevalence in special populations, such as children of alcoholics (Dube et al., 2001).
An individual's ACE score is expressed as the total number of reported ACEs measured in a binary, yes/no fashion. For example, a positive response to a question on sexual abuse...
