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Contextualizing Adverse Childhood Experiences: The Intersections of Individual and Community Adversity

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Abstract

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are traumatic childhood events that can undermine youth development, and are linked to chronic health problems, mental illness, and risk-taking behaviors in adulthood. ACEs are preventable, yet effective response strategies require comprehensive conceptualization and measurement of adversity. Although typically measured as individual experiences in the family and home (e.g., abuse, neglect), adversity also exists outside the home, in the many contexts in which youth development unfolds (e.g., communities, neighborhoods). Yet, such contexts and experiences are often absent in ACEs research. Using data from a nationally representative youth sample, this study addresses that gap, advancing a measure that contextualizes individual-level ACEs within social and structural domains of community-level adversity. Among 13,267 youth (mean age = 15.25 [range 12–18]; 51% female; 71% White; 13% Black; 10% Hispanic; 3% Asian; 2% American Indian/Multiracial), 61% and 73% were exposed to at least one individual and community ACE, respectively, while 15% of youth reported severe individual ACE exposure (≥3 ACEs) and 20% were exposed to severe (≥3) community ACEs. All ACE exposures were associated with problem behaviors later in adolescence, but youth reporting both severe individual and community ACEs were especially at high risk for later violence, delinquency, and other health-risk behaviors. These findings highlight that community adversity exacerbates the damaging effects of individual/family adversity and thus should be addressed in efforts to prevent ACEs and reduce their long-term harm.

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Acknowledgements

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research uses data from Add Health, a program project directed by Kathleen Mullan Harris and designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and funded by grant P01-HD31921 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 23 other federal agencies and foundations. Special acknowledgment is due Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for assistance in the original design. Information on how to obtain the Add Health data files is available on the Add Health website. No direct support was received from grant P01-HD31921 for this analysis. This research was also supported in part by the Center for Family and Demographic Research, Bowling Green State University, which has core funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P2CHD050959). All opinions herein are those of the authors only.

Authors’ Contributions

T.W. conceived of the study, participated in its design, analyzed the data, and wrote the paper; L.L. conceived of the study, participated in its design, and wrote the paper. D.P. conceived of the study, participated in its design, and wrote the paper. J.W. conceived of the study, participated in its design, and wrote the paper. All authors have read and approved the final version of this manuscript.

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The manuscript’s data will not be deposited. See https://addhealth.cpc.unc.edu/data/ for more information about how to access Add Health data.

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  1. Department of Criminal Justice, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1201 University Boulevard; UBOB 210, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA

    Tara D. Warner, Lindsay Leban & Jeffery T. Walker

  2. Center for the Study of Community Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 901 13th Street South, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA

    Danielle A. Pester

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Appendix

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Table 6

Table 6 Associations between ACEs and problem behaviors in adolescence, among severely exposed youth (n = 4,112)a,b
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Warner, T.D., Leban, L., Pester, D.A. et al. Contextualizing Adverse Childhood Experiences: The Intersections of Individual and Community Adversity. J Youth Adolescence 52, 570–584 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01713-2

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