Adverse childhood experiences, juvenile violent victimization, and victim–offender overlap in multiple successive birth cohorts

Abstract

There is a well-established relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and juvenile delinquency, but the associations between ACEs and juvenile victimization, and between ACEs and victim–offender overlap, remain less studied. We explore the associations between ACEs and victimization, violent offending and victim– offender overlap, and examine whether these associations have changed over time. The data cover multiple successive birth cohorts (1,006,028 individuals) born in Finland between 1987 and 2003, obtained from national registers. ACEs were measured at ages 0–14 and included parental social assistance recipiency, unemployment, substance abuse, psychiatric disorders, violent offending, and parental death. Juvenile victimization and delinquency were defined as police-reported assaults and robberies at age 15–17. All individual ACEs were associated with an increased risk of juvenile victimization, and the cumulative ACE sum score showed a clear graded relationship with victimization. These associations remained relatively constant over time. ACEs increased the relative risk of offender-only, victim-only, and victim–offender statuses. The relative risk was weakest for the victim-only group and highest for victim–offender group and risks remained stable over time for these groups, whereas the relative risk between ACEs and offender-only status increased over time. The findings call for effective early-life interventions to prevent ACEs.