Adverse Childhood Experiences and Truancy in High School: An Analysis of Florida Adolescents

• In Event: Individual and School Characteristics Associated with School Crime and Deviance

Abstract

Purpose: Previous research links exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with a host of negative outcomes including negative school outcomes. For instance, some studies link exposure to ACEs with weak school attachment, school misbehavior, suspension, negative academic performance, and absenteeism (Bell et al., 2021; Crouch et al., 2019; Blodgett & Lanigan, 2018). The current study extends the previous literature by examining the association between exposure to ACEs and truancy.
Data/Methods: In order to do so, this study examines self-report data from the 2022 cohort of the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (FYSAS).
Findings: The findings reveal that exposure to ACEs is associated with truancy in a dose-response fashion. In addition, the findings provide some evidence that the association between ACEs and truancy is partially attenuated by school and parenting related variables.
Conclusions: Exposure to ACEs appears to be associated with truancy in a dose-response relationship – wherein students exposed to more ACEs are more likely to be truant and skip more days of school.

Authors

• Cashen Boccio, University of Texas at San Antonio

• Stephanie Michelle Cardwell, University of Texas at San Antonio

• Dylan B. Jackson, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health