Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences and Juvenile Court Outcomes: The Moderating Role of Race and Ethnicity

Youth involved in the juvenile justice system have enhanced traumatic exposure including abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction compared to their non-involved counterparts. While prior research has conceptualized the role of trauma in predicting juvenile recidivism, the interrelated role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and race/ethnicity in informing juvenile court processing and outcomes is unaddressed. As such, we examine the moderating role of race/ethnicity with ACEs across court outcomes (e.g., dismissal, diversion, probation, residential placement) among juveniles after their first ever arrest (37.2% Black, 18.3% Hispanic). Higher ACEs were associated with (1) decreased adjudication likelihood, (2) case dismissal for Black and Hispanic youth, (3) deeper dispositions versus diversion for Hispanic youth, (4) residential placement versus diversion for White youth, and (5) residential placement versus probation, with no racial or ethnic differences. Policy implications and future research surrounding the treatment of justice-involved youth with childhood traumatic exposure across race/ethnicity are discussed.