Abstract
This study examines the relationship between criminal history and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and how they collectively predict (a) recidivism and (b) positive social functioning among multi-problem young adults. Criminal records and self-report data regarding ACEs and adult education/employment and quality of life (QoL) were collected for 692 multiproblem young adults (18–27 years). Results indicated that an extensive criminal history was related to non-violent and violent recidivism and lack of involvement in education/employment in young adulthood. On the contrary, a higher number of ACEs was related to lower QoL later in life, while this was not associated with recidivism or education/employment. These findings highlight again that past criminal behavior is a strong predictor of future criminality, particularly within this group of young adults with multiple problems. Furthermore, experiencing negative events in childhood shows to have long-term negative effects on QoL even for these individuals who already experience multiple life problems. Implications are discussed.
Highlights
This study examines the relationship between criminal history and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and how they collectively predict (a) recidivism and (b) positive social functioning among multi-problem young adults
The present study aims to investigate to what extent criminal history characteristics and ACEs are related, separately and collectively, to recidivism and socialfunction of multi-problem males in young adulthood
This study aimed to increase the knowledge of the predictive value of criminal history and ACEs on the functioning of a young adult group with multiple severe problems in different life domains
Summary
This study examines the relationship between criminal history and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and how they collectively predict (a) recidivism and (b) positive social functioning among multi-problem young adults. Youth who commit frequent and serious crimes in adolescence tend to be less successful later in life than non-offending youth: They are frequently engaged in multiple types of crimes during young adulthood (Piquero et al, 2012) and experience difficulty in finishing school and finding employment (Bullis & Yovanoff, 2002; Van der Geest et al, 2016) This relates negatively to quality of life (QoL) in young adulthood (Lanctôt et al, 2007). Much is unknown regarding how criminal history during adolescence and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) affect the road back to positive social functioning of multi-problem young adults These young adults dysfunction in society and suffer from multiple problems, including financial problems, a low level of education, judicial contacts, psychological problems, and substance abuse (Van Duin et al, 2017). Based on previous studies, it is hypothesized that past (non-)violent offending relates negatively with participation in education or employment in young adulthood
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