You Learn What You Live: Prevalence of Childhood Adversity in the Lives of Juveniles Arrested for Sexual Offenses

Background/Purpose

Childhood trauma has been linked to negative behavioral health outcomes across the lifespan. Research has indicated that the multiplicity, frequency, and chronicity of early adversity can manifest in a constellation of maladaptive coping strategies, mental health symptoms, and behavioral problems. ACEs are surprisingly common in the general population, but are even more pervasive in poor, minority, marginalized, and oppressed populations commonly served by social workers. Research on justice–involved youth has consistently found higher rates of adversity compared to youth in the general population, and they are more likely to have suffered multiple and chronic forms of trauma. The current exploratory and comparative study examines the prevalence of ACE items and the distribution of ACE scores of juveniles arrested for sexual offenses (JSO). JSO ACE measures are compared to prevalence rates in a sample of adult male and female sexual offenders reported in prior published research. Finally, the rates of early adversity in this specialized population of JSOs are compared to general population statistics reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  

Methods

The current study employs official Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (FDJJ) charge data on all youth who aged out of the juvenile justice system (n=89,045; 19,910 females, 69,135 males).  Specifically, 312 females and 6,237 males were arrested for a sexual offense. Instruments included the FDJJ risk/needs assessment, the Community Positive Achievement Change Tool (C-PACT), found to be predictive of recidivism for multiple samples of Florida juvenile offenders. The reliability of the C-PACT included an intra-class coefficient (ICC) of .83, with 4% of items (5 items) with less than 75% agreement with an expert rater.

 Results

Female JSOs had significantly higher ACE scores than non-JSO youth, adult females who had committed sexual abuse, and females in the general population. Male JSOs had higher scores than non-JSOs, and males in the general population, but not adult male SOs.  Delinquent youth in Florida have much higher rates of high-ACE scores than the general population, indicating that they come from households where the accumulation and variety of early adversity is a salient feature in their lives. The female JSOs had substantially higher rates of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) than the general female population (42% compared to 25% in the CDC sample), and the male JSOs reported lower CSA rates compared to the general population (13% vs. 16% of males in the CDC sample) and to adult male SOs (38%).

Conclusions and Implications

Youth with sexual behavior problems benefit from trauma-informed practices. By understanding how childhood trauma contributes to deficits in self-regulation and relational skills, we can inform and refine correctional interventions that reduce future risk of recidivism. It is essential that public policies be reflective of our knowledge about the lasting impacts of toxic stress in childhood and their role in the development of criminal behaviors. The assessment and understanding of the impact of early trauma is crucial in social work educational curricula and in practice across all problems and populations.