- On Average, Florida Youths Endure Multiple Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): This is the case in both rural (2.40) and urban/suburban (2.28) settings.
- Rural Youths Report More Delinquent Acts: Rural youths have higher average delinquency (0.36) compared to their urban/suburban counterparts (0.25).
- Higher ACE Scores Increase Delinquency: A one-unit increase in ACE score is associated with a 9.9% rise in delinquency rates among youths.
Introduction
From city streets to rural farmlands, ACEs affect children and fuel delinquency everywhere.
This is the major finding of a new study by Melissa S. Jones, John P. Hoffman, and Benjamin T. Wheelock of Brigham Young University. Published in Rural Sociology, they investigate the intersections of ACEs, delinquency, and residency in rural or urban/suburban areas.
Read on to learn more about their research into the link between adverse childhood experiences and delinquency, and what you can do to minimize ACEs in your community.
Background
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that occur during childhood and have been shown to lead to long-term negative health and behavioral outcomes. These experiences can include various forms of abuse, neglect, household disruptions, and other significant stressors like natural disasters, community violence, and concerns about neighborhood safety.
Recent criminological studies have used the ACEs framework to understand how childhood adversities relate to delinquency among both incarcerated and non-incarcerated youths. These studies have consistently found that children exposed to ACEs are at a higher risk of engaging in delinquent behaviors compared to their peers.
Furthermore, there is a dose-response relationship between the number of ACEs and the likelihood of delinquent behavior. In other words, each additional ACE significantly increases the probability of serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offending. Youths with multiple ACEs are also more likely to face various negative outcomes, including substance abuse, delinquent peer associations, involvement with the juvenile justice system, and reoffending.
Studies suggest that youths in rural areas tend to experience more ACEs compared to their urban counterparts:
- For example, research by Crouch et al. (2019, 2020, 2021) found that rural youths face greater exposure to ACEs than those in urban areas.
- Similarly, national studies indicate a higher risk of ACEs among rural youths compared to suburban youths.
- This increased exposure is often linked to higher levels of poverty in rural communities.
Despite the higher prevalence of ACEs, children in rural areas often have more Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs), such as volunteer opportunities and access to mentors. These positive experiences can provide coping resources for those exposed to ACEs, potentially mitigating some of their negative effects.
Studies comparing delinquency among rural, urban, and suburban youths have produced mixed results:
- Some research indicates that rural youths engage in fewer delinquent activities compared to urban youths. For instance, Lyerly and Skipper (1981) found lower rates of delinquency among rural youths.
- However, more recent studies suggest that certain delinquent behaviors are more common in rural areas, such as underage alcohol use. Rural youths are also more likely to have contact with the juvenile justice system.
- Still other studies have found little to no difference in delinquency rates between rural and urban youths.
The inconsistency in these findings may be due to various cultural and community factors, such as the prevalence of alcohol use and the social environment’s gender composition. Even though rural adolescents might face more community social control efforts, these do not necessarily reduce their risk of delinquency. In urban and suburban areas, factors like physical disorder, social disorganization, and collective efficacy significantly influence delinquency rates.
Research suggests that the effects of ACEs on delinquent behavior may vary across community types due to differences in available resources:
- Urban and suburban areas typically offer more support structures, such as counseling, mental health services, and youth support programs. These resources help young people cope with the adverse effects of ACEs.
- Consequently, rural youths exposed to ACEs might be more prone to delinquency due to a relative lack of social and community support.
- Conversely, some studies indicate that school collective efficacy can effectively deter delinquent behavior in rural schools, potentially dampening the effects of ACEs.
- Involvement in school and community activities can also reduce delinquency by fostering time commitments and conventional peer associations. For example, Gardner and Shoemaker (1989) found that these types of involvement were more negatively associated with delinquency among rural youths than urban youths.
However, social disorganization in rural communities can exacerbate the risk of delinquency, sometimes even more so than in urban areas. High levels of disorganization may magnify the impact of ACEs on delinquent behavior. This highlights the complex interplay of various factors that can influence how ACEs affect youths in different community settings.
Despite the available research, there are still gaps in understanding how ACEs influence delinquent behavior across different community settings. Specifically, it remains unclear whether the impact of ACEs on delinquency manifests differently among rural and urban youths. This study aims to fill these gaps by addressing the following research questions:
- Are ACEs associated with delinquency among Florida high school students?
- Does exposure to ACEs and the risk of delinquency vary between rural and urban/suburban Florida high school students?
- Does the rural versus urban/suburban setting moderate the relationship between ACEs and delinquency among Florida high school students?
By examining these questions, the study seeks to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how childhood adversities affect delinquent behaviors in different community contexts. This knowledge could have important implications for developing targeted trauma prevention and intervention strategies that consider the unique needs of rural and urban youths.
Methods
The data for this study comes from the 2022 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (FYSAS). This survey used a stratified, two-stage cluster sampling method to recruit middle and high school students separately. However, only high school students were asked about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), so our analysis is limited to this group.
Confusingly, the study states that out of 258 high schools sampled across Florida, 352 agreed to participate. Hopefully this error will be corrected in future versions of the article.
The surveys were administered between January and March 2022. About 61.5% of the students completed the survey online, while 38.5% used paper booklets. The participation rate among high school students was 69.5%. The surveys underwent five validation tests to remove invalid responses:
- Unrealistic drug use
- Unrealistic antisocial behavior
- Affirmative responses to a fake drug
- Inconsistent answers
- Surveys that were less than 25% complete.
This process led to the removal of 1,862 surveys, resulting in a final sample size of 23,078 students. Missing data were addressed using multiple imputations.
The primary variables of interest are:
- Delinquency was measured using six survey items, such as carrying a handgun or selling drugs. These items were recoded into six binary variables (0 = never, 1 = at least once) and combined into an index (α = 0.98).
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) were measured using ten items asking about various negative experiences, like emotional or physical abuse and parental divorce. Each item was binary (0 = no, 1 = yes) and summed into an index (Kuder–Richardson measure of reliability = 0.78).
- Living Area: Participants were asked where they live, with options recoded into rural (1) or urban/suburban (0).
The authors also controlled for several other relevant variables:
- Race/Ethnicity: Coded into six categories: non-Hispanic African American, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian, Native American, Other/Multiple, and non-Hispanic White.
- Gender: Binary variable (1 = female, 0 = male).
- Language: Whether English is spoken at home (1) or not (0).
- Grade Level: Ranging from 9th grade (0) to 12th grade (3).
- Parents’ Education: Average educational attainment of parents, from grade school (0) to graduate school (5).
- Living with Biological Parents: Binary variable (1 = living with both biological parents, 0 = other).
- Depression: Measured with four items, averaged into a single score (α = 0.98).
- Bullying: Measured physical, verbal, and cyberbullying, averaged into a single score (α = 0.76).
- Substance Use: Number of occasions of using various substances in the past year, averaged into a single score (α = 0.98).
- Self-Control: Six-item measure of impulsivity, risk-seeking, and anger, averaged into a single score (α = 0.99).
- Skipping School: Number of whole days missed due to skipping.
- Parental Monitoring/Discipline: Six-item average measuring how well parents monitor and discipline their children (α = 0.98).
- Attachment to School: Two-item average measuring enjoyment of school.
- Attachment to Parents: Five-item average measuring time spent and communication with parents (α = 0.97).
- Neighborhood Context: Eight-item index measuring access to substances and perceptions of neighborhood norms (α = 0.98).
Jones et al. first calculated descriptive statistics for the high school sample. Then, they compared the mean ACEs and delinquency scores between students in rural and urban/suburban areas using t-tests. To analyze the relationship between ACEs, living area, and delinquency, they used negative binomial regression models.
The study acknowledges limitations such as its focus on Florida high school students, the inability to capture all ACE variants, and the cross-sectional nature of the data. The authors argue that future research should explore ACEs and delinquency across more diverse geographical contexts and consider community-level factors.
Findings
On average, the youths reported engaging in 0.27 delinquent acts over the past year and had an average ACE score of 2.26. About 21.6% of the students lived in rural areas, while 77.6% were in urban or suburban areas. The sample was diverse in terms of grade level, gender, race/ethnicity, and neighborhood context, with 53.3% of youths living with biological parents who generally had some college education.
The study found statistically significant differences in delinquency and ACEs between youths in rural and urban/suburban areas:
- Those in rural areas reported more delinquent acts (average 0.36) compared to those in urban/suburban areas (average 0.25).
- The average ACE score was also higher for rural youths (2.40) than for urban/suburban youths (2.24), although this difference was not substantial.
- This indicates that ACEs are a widespread issue among Florida youths, regardless of their living environment.
The analysis revealed that a higher ACE score is associated with increased delinquency. Specifically, a one-unit increase in ACE score led to a 9.9% rise in delinquency rates. Additionally, other factors influenced delinquency rates:
- African American, Hispanic/Latinx, Native American, and youths of other/multiple races reported higher delinquency rates compared to White youths. Conversely, Asian youths reported lower rates.
- Factors such as substance use, low self-control, being bullied, skipping school, and living in high-antisocial neighborhoods were linked to higher delinquency rates.
- In contrast, higher grade levels, better parental education, parental monitoring, and strong school attachment were associated with lower delinquency rates. Female youths also reported lower delinquency rates than males.
An interaction effect showed that ACEs had a slightly greater impact on delinquency for urban/suburban youths than for rural youths. However, at high ACE levels, this difference diminished. The protective mechanisms in rural communities seemed less effective once ACE exposure reached a certain level.
In sum, the study highlights that both ACEs and delinquency are more prevalent among rural youths compared to urban/suburban youths. However, the impact of ACEs on delinquency is stronger for urban/suburban youths. This could be due to rural youths’ greater involvement in school and community activities, which might serve as coping mechanisms against the effects of ACEs. Nevertheless, ACEs remain a significant predictor of delinquency in both environments, particularly at higher levels of exposure.
What Can You Do?
Addressing the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on delinquency requires a multi-faceted approach that includes community involvement, policy changes, and individual actions. Here are some actionable steps that can be taken to mitigate the negative effects of ACEs and reduce delinquency among youths:
1. Increase Access to Mental Health Services:
- Advocate for the expansion of mental health services in schools and communities, particularly in rural areas where resources are often limited.
- Support policies that provide funding for mental health professionals and programs targeting children and adolescents.
2. Implement School-Based Programs:
- Promote the adoption of evidence-based programs in schools that focus on social-emotional learning, resilience building, and trauma-informed practices.
- Encourage schools to create safe, supportive environments where students feel valued and understood.
3. Enhance Parental Support and Education:
- Offer parenting classes that teach positive discipline techniques, effective communication skills, and stress management.
- Create support groups for parents to share experiences and strategies for dealing with the challenges of raising children with ACEs.
4. Strengthen Community Resources:
- Develop community centers that provide after-school programs, mentoring, and volunteer opportunities for youths.
- Foster partnerships between local organizations, businesses, and schools to create a network of support for children and families.
5. Promote Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs):
- Encourage activities that build a sense of belonging and purpose, such as sports, arts, and community service.
- Recognize and celebrate achievements and milestones to boost children’s self-esteem and sense of accomplishment.
6. Advocate for Policy Changes:
- Support legislation that addresses the root causes of ACEs, such as poverty, domestic violence, and substance abuse.
- Work with policymakers to ensure that rural and underserved communities receive adequate funding and resources.
7. Provide Training for Professionals:
- Ensure that teachers, counselors, healthcare providers, and law enforcement officers receive training on the effects of ACEs and how to respond appropriately.
- Promote the use of trauma-informed care practices across all sectors that work with children and families.
8. Encourage Peer Support and Mentorship:
- Establish peer support groups where youths can share their experiences and learn coping strategies from one another.
- Develop mentorship programs that connect youths with positive role models who can provide guidance and support.
9. Monitor and Evaluate Programs:
- Implement regular assessments to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and make necessary adjustments.
- Collect and analyze data to understand the impact of ACEs on delinquency and identify successful strategies for prevention and intervention.
10. Increase Public Awareness:
- Launch public awareness campaigns to educate the community about ACEs, their impact, and ways to support affected youths.
- Use social media, community events, and other platforms to spread information and resources.
The authors, in particular, tout the need for targeted interventions during childhood and adolescence to mitigate the negative outcomes of ACEs. School-based programs have shown promise in addressing emotional and behavioral issues without the need for ACE screening. Policymakers should prioritize funding for school and community-based prevention strategies and modify existing treatment programs to better address the ACEs–delinquency link. Conducting cost-effectiveness analyses of these interventions will help ensure their economic viability and sustainability.
What are some effective strategies you’ve seen in your community to support children with ACEs? Share your experiences in the comments.
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