Adverse childhood experiences and violence in adulthood: Exploring gendered patterns of victimization and...

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are well-established predictors of health and socioeconomic disadvantage across the life course, yet their implications for adult violence involvement-both victimization and perpetration-remain less understood. Clarifying these links is critical to understanding the broader social consequences of early adversity.

This study investigated the relationship between ACEs and violence outcomes in adulthood, distinguishing between victimization and perpetration, and examined potential gender differences in these associations.

Data were drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 14,277). Ten ACE indicators were used to construct a cumulative ACE index as well as individual adversity measures. Violence outcomes in the past year were assessed separately for victimization and perpetration. Negative binomial regression models estimated associations, adjusting for a comprehensive set of individual and family covariates. Gender differences were assessed using gender-specific average marginal effects (AMEs) and AME contrasts.

ACEs were strongly and positively associated with both victimization and perpetration. Several specific adversities, including physical abuse and community violence, showed the strongest independent associations. Gender analyses demonstrated that ACEs predicted higher violence involvement for both men and women, but the magnitude of the association was significantly greater for men.

Childhood adversity has lasting consequences for adult violence involvement, and the strength of these effects differs by gender. Differentiating victimization from perpetration, modeling dose-response patterns, and probing gender heterogeneity deepen understanding of how early adversity shapes behavioral trajectories across the life course.