Child Abuse Negl. 2025 Apr 30:107315. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107315. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Existing research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) emphasizes that ACEs tend to co-occur, both at specific timepoints and across development. However, these conclusions are often drawn from cross-sectional data, retrospective reports, and high-risk samples. Patterns of ACE co-occurrence have yet to be investigated longitudinally using repeated, time-specific measures of ACE exposure.
OBJECTIVE: Assess patterns of ACE co-occurrence across development and compare findings from three longitudinal birth cohorts.
PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Data came from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; U.K.), the Generation R Study (GenR; The Netherlands), and the Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS; South Africa).
METHOD: ACEs were measured repeatedly from birth to age 10 using prospective caregiver reports. Cohort-level tetrachoric correlations were estimated to characterize associations within and between ACE types and by timepoints.
RESULTS: ACEs were only moderately correlated within and across time, with correlation estimates under r = 0.5 at most timepoints, even for the most prevalent exposures. In all cohorts, ACEs capturing direct victimization had the highest co-occurrence with each other. ACEs capturing household dysfunction tended to persist over time but were less likely to co-occur with other ACEs. ACEs were most prevalent in DCHS and had the highest co-occurrence in ALSPAC.
CONCLUSIONS: Variation exists in patterns of ACE co-occurrence by ACE type, developmental timing, and sample. Given these results, researchers and clinicians should challenge the assumption that all ACEs consistently co-occur. Instead, ACE exposure when measured via parent or participant self report – may need to be assessed repeatedly across development to better understand patterns of ACE co-occurrence and inform targeted interventions.
PMID:40312228 | DOI:10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107315
