Further Evaluating the Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences, Antisocial Behavior, and Violent Victimization: A Sibling-Comparison Analysis

Abstract

A developing line of research suggests that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase the risk for antisocial behavior and future victimization. However, the mechanisms that underlie this association remain largely speculative. To address this gap in the existing body of research, data on full siblings from a large population-based sample of youth were analyzed to evaluate the direct effect of ACEs on child antisocial behavior, adolescent delinquency, and young adult violent victimization after controlling for familial confounders. Traditional between-family analyses revealed that ACEs were significantly associated with higher levels of childhood antisocial behavior, adolescent delinquent behavior, and risk for violent crime victimization. After controlling for unmeasured common genetic and shared environmental confounds using fixed-effect sibling comparisons, siblings exposed to more ACEs did not demonstrate higher levels of antisocial behavior, delinquent behavior, or risk for future victimization. The implications of these results for future ACEs research are discussed.