The Role of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Psychopathic Features on Juvenile Offending Criminal Careers to Age 18

AuthorKevin T. Wolff,Michael T. Baglivio,Katherine Jackowski,Matt DeLisi
Published date01 October 2020
DOI10.1177/1541204020927075
Date01 October 2020
Subject MatterArticles
Article
The Role of Adverse
Childhood Experiences
(ACEs) and Psychopathic
Features on Juvenile
Offending Criminal Careers
to Age 18
Michael T. Baglivio
1
, Kevin T. Wolff
2
,
Matt DeLisi
3
, and Katherine Jackowski
1
Abstract
Childhood maltreatment and inept parental disciplinary, attachment, and monitoring practices
evidence a relationship with early and severe childhood and adolescent aggression and have figured
prominently as causative factors in theoretical and empirical underpinnings of lifelong antisocial
behavior. Abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction have been linked to both violent offending and
higher scores on measures of dispositional tendencies associated with psychopathy. The current
study incorporates these lines of research by examining a potential pathway by which cumulative
adverse childhood experience exposure, rather than single exposures assessed independently, leads
to chronic and serious juvenile offending. Specifically, we leverage a sample of 64,007 juvenile
offenders who have aged out of the juvenile justice system to examine the extent to which the
effects of traumatic exposure on age of onset (first arrest) as well as residential placement, total
offenses, and serious, violent, and chronic offending up to age 18 are each mediated by psychopathic
features. Results demonstrate that a substantial portion (37%–93%) of the effects of cumulative
traumatic exposure on justice system outcomes is indirect, operating through these features, even
after controlling for demographic and other criminogenic risk factors. Juvenile justice policy impli-
cations are discussed.
Keywords
adverse childhood experiences, traumatic exposure, juvenile offending, adolesce nt psychopathic
features
1
Youth Opportunity Investments, LLC, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
2
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, NY, USA
3
Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
Corresponding Author:
Michael T. Baglivio, Youth Opportunity Investments, LLC, 701 94th Ave. North, Suite 100, St. Petersburg, FL 33702, USA.
Email: michael.baglivio@youthopportunity.com
Youth Violence and JuvenileJustice
2020, Vol. 18(4) 337-364
ªThe Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/1541204020927075
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According to the most recent dat a, in the United States, approx imately 4 million children we re
involved in a Child Protective Services investigation (U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser-
vices, 2018). Childhood maltreatment and inept parental disciplinary, attachment, and monitoring
practices have been shown to be associated with early and severe childhood and adolescent aggression
(Raine et al., 1997; Shaw & Winslow, 1997) and have figured prominently as causative factors in
theoretical and empirical underpinnings of lifelong antisocial behavior (Moffitt, 1993; Widom,
1989b). Family dynamics such as parental offending, mental health problems, and substance abuse
as well as domestic violence, separation/divorce, and physical abuse and neglect of the child are risk
factors for the victimized child to engage in antisocial and criminal behavior themself (Braungart-
Rieker et al., 1995; Cadoret et al., 1995; Widom, 1997). Importantly, those are the exact factors that
comprise the cumulative childhood traumatic exposure, the adverse childhood experience (ACE)
score. Medical research has shown that ACE scores increase the odds of developing many of the
leading causes of death, including ischemic heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, morbid
obesity, skeletal fractures, and liver disease (Anda et al., 2006; Chartier et al., 2010; Felitti et al.,
1998; Flaherty et al., 2013). Recently, the ACE score has been introduced as a measure of cumulative
traumatic exposure in criminology, specifically in such traumatic exposure’s relationship with juve-
nile delinquency and juvenile criminal “careers” (Baglivio, Wolff, Piquero, & Epps, 2015).
Criminal career (Blumstein et al., 1986; DeLisi, 2005; Moffitt, 1993; Piquero et al., 2003;
Wolfgang et al., 1972) and psychopathy (Gendreau et al., 2002; Hare, 1999; Hare & Jutai, 1983;
Hare & McPherson, 1984; McCord, 1982) research have established that a preponderance of all
crime, including violence, is perpetrated by a small proportion of offenders. Both life-course crim-
inology (Farrington, 2019) and psychopathy (Hare et al., 1988, 1991) research have found these
individuals continue to offend into midlife and beyond. This convergence has led some to contend
that the two concepts of psychopathy and criminal careers demand integration (DeLisi & Piquero,
2011; Vaughn & DeLisi, 2008). Additionally, prior work has demonstrated that maltreatment and
witnessing family violence are associated with psychopathic traits in adult male criminal offenders
(Dargis & Koenigs, 2017). What has been left heretofore unaddressed is the relationship between
traumatic exposure as measured by the ACE score, dispositional tendencies characteristic of ado-
lescent psychopathy, and juvenile offending.
The current study aims to examine whether the well-established childhood maltreatment–offend-
ing relationship is mediated by these psychopathic features. The policy relevance of this line of
inquiry is immense. Knowledge of the pathway by which ACE lead to extensive offending lends
well to policy surrounding services for maltreated youth within juvenile justice systems. Under-
standing of whether childhood maltreatment manifests into features such as low empathy and
remorse, callousness, and detachment may drive targeted prevention and treatment efforts across
schools, communities, and community-based service providers as well. As such, we first describe
the extant work examining the maltreatment–offending relationship, focusing predomi nately on
more recent studies that employed the ACE score framework of cumulative traumatic exposure.
Next, adolescent psychopathy and offending are discussed in efforts to elucidate the features most
characteristic of adolescent psychopathy as justification for inclusion of similar measures in the
current study. Third, our data, measures, and analysis plan for examining the mediating role of
psychopathic features in the ACE–offending relationship are described.
ACEs and Aggression/Offending
Our understanding that childhood maltreatment increases the likelihood of criminal offending,
including serious and violent offending, has a well-developed research history (Lansford et al.,
2007; Smith & Thornberry, 1995; Widom, 1989a, 1989b). Suffering maltreatment victimization
and exposure to household dysfunction has been linked to general delinquency and violent offending
338 Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 18(4)

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