Adverse Childhood Experiences and Victimization in Adulthood

• In Event: Developmental Issues in the Study of Victimization

Abstract

Prior research has indicated that exposure to adverse childhood experiences such as physical, verbal and sexual abuse, is related to a wide range of negative adulthood outcomes, including increased risk for criminal offending as well as victimization. In the current study we examine the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and several types of criminal victimization in adulthood. Using survey data collected from 296 men and women detained in a local jail, we examine the relationship between exposure to several forms of adverse childhood experiences, and the probability of reporting a criminal victimization in the 30 days prior to incarceration. Preliminary results from a series of logistic regression analyses suggests that individuals exposed to childhood abuse and trauma are more likely to report being a victim of violent attack and having something stolen from them in the 30 days prior to incarceration, even when controlling for prior criminal history and community violence. We discuss the implications of our results for theories linking early childhood experiences with abuse and trauma to later adulthood outcomes, as well as potential policy implications for correctional-based rehabilitation and treatment programs.

Author

• Nancy Ann Morris, Virginia Commonwealth University