Accumulating (Dis)advantage: Do Social Bonds Mediate the Relationship between Multiple Childhood Adversities and Persistent Offending?

• In Event: Revisiting the Critical Role of Childhood Factors in Predicting Later Life Outcomes II

Abstract

The impact of the familial environment on involvement in later criminal behavior is well-established: children reared in environments characterized by victimization and in “broken homes” are more likely to commit more serious offenses, at a higher rate and over a longer duration. One of the mechanisms that links early adversity to later offending is the inability of young adults to form appropriate pro-social bonds. However, the majority of the research that considers the impact of child victimization on offending focuses on the impact of one type of adverse experience without accounting for or controlling for others. This paper utilizes the literature on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) to suggest that the risk of frequent and persistent offending increases with the number of adverse events that are experienced in childhood. Using data on several hundred violent and non-violent offenders, the current study examines how cumulative adversity in childhood is related to offending through problematic interpersonal relationships and the disruption of social bonds. Findings from the current research are discussed, along with implications and directions for future research in this area.

Authors

• Tamara Humphrey, University of Calgary

• Erin Elan Gibbs Van Brunschot, University of Calgary