Associations between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Neighborhood Safety Among Parents Receiving Child Maltreatment Prevention Services

Background and Purpose: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with long-term negative impacts on physical and mental health. ACEs are often examined in the context of interpersonal factors, and thus the association between ACEs and neighborhood-level constructs is not well understood. This study uses data from community-based child maltreatment prevention programs to examine the relationship between ACE scores and neighborhood safety for parents who have been identified as ‘at risk’ of perpetrating child maltreatment.  

Methods: Parents who participated in child maltreatment programs in 16 Texas counties were asked to complete a voluntary pre-survey (incorporating multiple standardized instruments) detailing their risk and protective factors for child maltreatment. Survey measures included the Adverse Childhood Experiences measure developed by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control; the resilience subscale of the Parents’ Assessment of Protective Factors Instrument; Mental Health Inventory 5 (MHI-5); the 6-item UNCOPE screening tool for substance use, and the Hurt, Insulted, Threatened with Harm and Screamed (HITS) domestic violence screening. Descriptive statistics were calculated and multiple linear regression was employed to examine the relationship between perceived neighborhood safety and history of childhood trauma. In the first model, history of childhood trauma was the independent variable with perceived neighborhood safety as the dependent variable. In the second model, additional predictors (substance use, alcohol use, mental health and domestic violence) were added as covariates to examine their potential mediating effects on the relationship between ACEs and neighborhood safety.

Results: A total of 1,256 caregivers completed the survey. The mean age of caregivers was 29. The majority of the caregivers were female (94%), Hispanic (86%) and single or divorced (52%). Almost half (46%)had an annual income of less than $10,000.  The mean score on the neighborhood safety scale was 3.04 (SD=0.72).  The mean ACE score was 2.79 (SD=3.27). Regression findings suggest that ACE scores explained 3.8% of the variance in neighborhood safety and that the ACE scores were a significant correlate of neighborhood safety (p=0.001). When mental health, substance use, alcohol use and domestic violence were added to the model, the model explained 8% of the variation in neighborhood safety. ACE scores remained a significant factor in the model (β=-0.032, p=0.007). Other significant correlates included parent mental health (β=0.005, p=0.010) and alcohol use (β=0.170, p=0.013).

Conclusions and Implications: Findings suggest that a higher number of ACEs is associated with a higher likelihood that parents feel unsafe in their neighborhoods. Even when the caregiver’s mental health and alcohol use are considered, adverse childhood experiences remain a strong predictor of neighborhood safety. These findings suggest that trauma in childhood are associated with effects beyond health and individual-level factors. In working with clients who experience housing instability and/or live in unsafe neighborhoods, social workers should be aware of the potential role childhood trauma may play in their client’s circumstances.