Research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) has unified the study of interrelated risks and generated insights into the origins of disorder and disease. Ten indicators of child maltreatment and household dysfunction are widely accepted as ACEs, but further progress requires a more systematic approach to conceptualizing and measuring ACEs. Using data from a diverse, low-income sample of women who received home visiting services in Wisconsin (N = 1,241), this study assessed the prevalence of and interrelations among 10 conventional ACEs and 7 potential ACEs: family financial problems, food insecurity, homelessness, parental absence, parent/sibling death, bullying, and violent crime. Associations between ACEs and two outcomes, perceived stress and smoking, were examined. The factor structure and test–retest reliability of ACEs was also explored. As expected, prevalence rates were high compared to studies of more representative samples. Except for parent/sibling death, all ACEs were intercorrelated and associated at the bivariate level with perceived stress and smoking. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed that conventional ACEs loaded on two factors, child maltreatment and household dysfunction, though a more complex four-factor solution emerged once new ACEs were introduced. All ACEs demonstrated acceptable test–retest reliability. Implications and future directions toward a second generation of ACE research are discussed.

Objectives. This study compares the effects of childhood maltreatment and adolescent maltreatment on delinquency and crime, including violent and nonviolent offending. Methods. Data were derived from the Chicago Longitudinal Study, a prospective investigation of 1,539 underprivileged, minority subjects. Results. Results confirmed that rates of overall delinquency, along with violent, drug, and property offending specifically, were elevated among childhood and adolescent maltreatment victims compared to their nonmaltreated peers. Childhood maltreatment was associated with delinquency independent of adolescent maltreatment, and strong connections between adolescent maltreatment and delinquency were present independent of prior victimization. Childhood maltreatment was also significantly related to a panel of adult crime measures, while the effects of adolescent maltreatment on adult crime were less robust. Conclusions. The study findings suggest that maltreatment at any age increases the risk of future offending, implying that investments in prevention and intervention strategies throughout childhood and adolescence may reduce delinquency and crime.

This study investigates associations between individual, family, and extrafamilial factors and the likelihood of subsequent childhood and adolescent maltreatment. The authors analyzed 1,411 participants in the Chicago Longitudinal Study whose maltreatment records were verified from administrative data. Findings suggest that maternal age at the child's birth was a robust predictor of maltreatment outcomes. Receipt of public assistance and single-parent family status were significantly associated with select outcomes. Among school-age indicators examined, parent participation in school was negatively associated with most maltreatment outcomes. Participation in the Chicago Child-Parent Center program was negatively associated with maltreatment, although effects varied by type and timing of maltreatment. In separate analyses, several factors were associated with neglect, but only maternal age at the child's birth was associated with physical abuse. Findings suggest that prevention programs may need to target select populations and specific mechanisms associated with different types of maltreatment to maximize effectiveness.