Co-occurring Early Adolescent ACEs and Associations With Later Peer Relationships

Abstract

Research indicates complex associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adolescent peer relationships. ACEs are related to lower peer status, yet the links between ACEs, peer characteristics, and peer relationship quality are inconclusive. The current literature has several further conceptual and methodological limitations, including a lack of attention to ACEs’ co-occurring nature, the developmental timing of ACEs during adolescence, and the multifaceted nature of peer relationships. In addition, much of the literature is cross-sectional. The current study addresses these limitations by examining the associations of early adolescents’ co-occurring ACEs at age 12 with three subsequent peer relationship aspects at age 16 (i.e., peer characteristics, peer status, and peer relationship quality) while controlling for demographics and early adversities. Participants included 883 youth from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect. Latent class analyses of the 10 ACEs, as examined in the original CDC-Kaiser ACE study, identified three distinct ACE classes at age 12 (threat, deprivation, and low ACEs) that were distinguished by gender, race, income, and early adversities. Further, the threat class was related to adverse outcomes in peer characteristics and status, while the deprivation class was associated with differences in peer relationship quality. These findings highlight the need for researchers and practitioners to consider ACEs’ co-occurring nature and tailor trauma-informed care accordingly. Findings also underscore the salience of studying ACEs that occur in the developmental period of early adolescence.