The subjective experience of childhood disadvantage as a predictor of adolescent delinquency and low self-control

• In Event: Causes and consequences of adolescent delinquency

Abstract

Research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) highlights the harmful effects of major household disadvantages—such as family disruption and parental substance abuse, mental health problems, and incarceration—on adolescent development and behavior. Although these adversities do not necessarily involve abuse or neglect, they create instability that may increase the risk of life-course complications. Research is limited, however, by the standard reliance on binary-coded measures that capture only whether a given disadvantage is present or absent. This overlooks that objective forms of disadvantage may be subjectively experienced in quite varied ways by different adolescents. This study addresses this limitation by examining whether the effects of household disadvantage on child behavior depend on youths’ earlier subjective assessments of their severity. This issue is examined with longitudinal data from a large sample of U.S. youth from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for best practices in measuring and assessing the effects of childhood exposure to household disadvantage and the broader array of ACEs that shape child and adolescent development.

Authors

• Jordan Sydney Donohue, Florida State University

• Jacob Michael Judd, Florida State University

• Carter Hay, Florida State University