Adverse Childhood Experiences and Offender Risk to Re-Offend in the United States: A Quantitative Examination

Abstract

IntroductionThe effective management, treatment, and supervision of individuals incarcerated in prison, or serving sentences on probation or parole, requires a comprehensive assessment of the offender's individualized risk and needs. Accurate risk assessment not only provides correctional staff with valuable information on how best to supervise the offender, but also the most appropriate level or intensity of treatment interventions. Lowenkamp, Latessa, and Holsinger (2006) found that placing low-risk offenders with high-risk offenders significantly increased the recidivism rate for low-risk offenders. In their meta-analysis, Andrews and Dowden (2006) found that there were a number of protective and risk factors that help reduce or exacerbate an offenders risk to re-offend, respectively. These factors include, for example, education level, vocational skills, and self-control. Andrews and Dowden (2006) concluded that the more protective factors an offender possess, the lower their risk to re-offend. Many of the protective factors Andrews and Dowden (2006) explained are skills and knowledge an individual acquires throughout childhood. Children learn self-control, the value of education, and language ability from their family and peers early in life. Negative childhood experiences can hinder the child's ability to acquire these valuable protective factors. Criminologists have linked early childhood behavior and traits to future offending (Kratzer & Hodgins, 1997; Lipsey & Derzon, 1998). Antisocial behaviors found in youth have been linked to future criminal behavior, loitering, gambling, drinking, and low self-control (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990; Paternoster & Brame, 1998). Therefore, any negative experience that hinders a child from developing the protective factors can have a sizable effect on their future risk of involvement in the criminal justice system. Smith and Stern (1997) stated that:We know that children who grow up in homes characterized by lack of warmth and support, whose parents lack behavior-management skills, and whose lives are characterized by conflict or maltreatment will more likely be delinquent, whereas a supportive family can protect children even in a very hostile and damaging environment. (pp. 383-384)Growing up in a home that experiences violence can have a large effect on future behavior. Farrington, Barnes, and Lambert (1996) examined 400 boys from South London from ages 8 to 46, and found that having a convicted family member predicted the boys' future incarceration. Building on this longitudinal study, Farrington, Jolliffe, Loeber, Stouthamer-Loeber, and Lalb (2001) examined 1,500 boys from Pittsburgh from ages 7 to 25. Once again Farrington et al. (2001) found that having an incarcerated family member predicted the boys' future incarceration. Moreover, the study concluded that the father's incarceration had the largest effect on their sons.Furthermore, victims of childhood neglect and abuse often become perpetrators of crime as adults (Kingree, Phan, & Thompson, 2003; Smith & Thornberry, 1995; Widom & Maxfield, 2001). Widom and Maxfield (2001) preformed a longitudinal study comparing children with cases of maltreatment to controls. The maltreated children had 27 percent higher likelihood of being arrested as juveniles and a 42 percent higher likelihood of being arrested as an adult compared to the controls, suggesting that early childhood abuse and neglect have a large impact on future offending.Criminologists have also found that being abused physically as a child predicts future offending. Maxfield and Widom (1996) examined court records to identify more than 900 children who had been abused or neglected before the age of 11. Comparing this group to a control group matched on age, race, gender, and place of residence showed that 20 years later the abused and neglected children were more likely to be arrested as juveniles and adults than the control group. …