Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adolescent Police Contact in the United Kingdom

OBJECTIVES: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are prevalent in the population and yield several adverse consequences for child health and development as they accumulate. The objective of the current study is to examine the association between ACEs and adolescent police contact using a national, longitudinal study of adolescents born in the United Kingdom. METHODS: Data come from a sample of 11 313 adolescents who participated in the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), which is a national, longitudinal study of adolescents born in the United Kingdom between 2000 and 2002. Accumulating ACEs were measured at ages 5 and 7 years and reports of police contact were measured at age 14 years, including being stopped and questioned, warned/cautioned, and arrested. RESULTS: Accumulating ACEs at ages 5 and 7 years are associated with a significant increase in the odds of experiencing police stops by age 14 years, with 3 or more ACEs corresponding to a 100% increase in the odds of police stops. Additional analyses reveal that behavioral health factors at age 11 years explain 58.5% to 78.1% of the association between ACEs and adolescent police stops, with externalizing behavior explaining the largest portion of the association. Finally, accumulating ACEs were most relevant to being warned/cautioned or arrested by police. CONCLUSIONS: A history of accumulating ACEs during early childhood elevates the likelihood of police contact by age 14 years, in part by undermining behavioral health. Findings highlight the potential for early interventions in the lives of ACE-exposed adolescents to curtail justice system involvement.