Minors at risk: adverse childhood experiences and youth offending

Abstract

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), broadly defined as experiences of abuse, neglect and household dysfunction have been associated with negative lifelong consequences, the sequelae of which are clearly manifested during adulthood. One of the most prevalent consequences is related to juvenile justice involvement or persistent offending, due to the large overlap of child victims who subsequently become juvenile offenders. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the influence that ACEs have on the development of negative consequences during emerging adulthood. The results showed a differential and cumulative effect of ACEs as well as an intergenerational transmission. In addition, recidivism studies suggested lower accuracy in the risk assessment of ethnic minorities, highlighting the importance of testing risk assessment instruments for possible biases based on ethnicity.