During episode 49 : Juvenile Justice & Suicide, Part I, we discussed the negative effects of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences). Adolescents who suffer adverse events such as homelessness, abuse, or absent parents become more likely to have severe problems later. Incarceration is one of the devastating consequences related to experiencing ACEs.
ACEs Are Common Among the Incarcerated
It is commonly held that we should protect kids from bad things. However, research indicates that about one third of kids in the United States experience at least one ACE during childhood. The Compassion Prison Project reports, though, that a staggering 97% of those who are incarcerated have suffered at least one ACE. Among the incarcerated, though, almost 50% have experienced four or more ACES. Experiencing four+ ACEs makes you 20X more likely to become incarcerated. Furthermore, being incarcerated itself is traumatizing, adding yet one more ACE to the person’s experience.
Impact on Families
Some children experience having one or both of their parents incarcerated. Kids with incarcerated parents experience, on average, 5 times as many ACEs as other kids. This alone makes them much more likely to develop problems themselves, including being placed in incarceration. Additionally, you may sometimes hear that kids raised in “bad environments” don’t HAVE to become involved in illegal activities. There is an implication that anybody can escape the damage of ACEs if they just try hard enough. While it is true that not every person who experiences adverse events is doomed to engage in criminal behavior, it is widely understood that having one of more ACEs increases your likelihood of imprisonment (and suicidal ideation). Compare the presence of one or more ACEs to driving while intoxicated. You may not have an accident while driving under the influence, but the more intoxicated you are, the more likely you are to have a crash.
Research suggests that ACEs may influence participation in criminal behavior through several mechanisms:
- Social
- Lacking basic needs (e.g., being hungry or homeless)
- Experiencing discrimination because of color, ethnicity, sexual orientation
- Community
- Growing up in crime-ridden communities
- Living in areas with few resources
- Interpersonal
- Physical abuse
- Neglect by parents
- Sexual abuse
- Experiencing or witnessing trauma
- Individual factors
- Mental health problems
- Substance use
These kinds of experiences may create feelings of anger, isolation, a sense of rejection by peers, or a feeling of hopelessness/desperation. Unsurprisingly, these feelings are often tied to an increase in criminal behavior. When children experience maltreatment in childhood, they become more likely to be antisocial and violent. They also tend to associate with others who have been maltreated, making this their experience of what is normal.
What Should Be Done?
Not every person in prison comes from a bad childhood, but it is clear from the research that most do. Reducing the incidence of childhood abuse and neglect would probably do more to prevent crime than building more prisons. The more traumatizing experiences that a person has, the more vulnerable they are. We can’t point to exceptions to these trends to prove this isn’t true. That’s why they are exceptions!
In Conclusion…
Adverse childhood experiences lead to many negative outcomes including incarceration. The more ACES you experience, the more likely you are to become incarcerated (and suicidal). Almost all of those who are imprisoned have had adverse experiences, and about half have experienced more than four.