Buffering effects of positive childhood experiences on the association between adolescents' adverse childhood experiences and delinquency: A statewide study

Background: Although research demonstrates a graded relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and delinquent behaviors for youth involved in juvenile justice, few studies have examined whether positive childhood experiences (PCEs) mitigate this relationship in lowrisk samples. Objective: This study investigates the degree to which PCEs buffer the relationship between high schoolers' ACEs and self-reported delinquent behavior and arrests. Participants and setting: Data were collected in 2020 using the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (FYSAS), an in-school survey of students in Grades 9-12. Of the 24,772 participants, 51 % reported their sex as male, 49 % reported their race/ethnicity as White/Caucasian, 30 % Spanish/ Hispanic/Latine<acute accent>, 26 % Black/African American, 2 % American Indian/Native American, 3 % Asian, 1 % Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and 3 % another race/ethnicity. Methods: Adolescents self-reported information on 10 ACEs, 8 PCEs, delinquent behavior, and arrest. Logistic regression was estimated to assess effects on having been arrested in the past year or having committed an act of delinquency in the past year. Results: Odds of arrest were 14 % higher for every one-point increase in ACEs and 16 % lower for every one-point increase in PCEs with no evidence of a buffering effect of PCEs on the link between ACEs and arrest. Odds of delinquency were 13 % higher for every one-point increase in ACEs and 14 % lower for every one-point increase in PCEs. There was a significant interaction of ACEs and PCEs predicting delinquency. There was a stronger buffering effect of PCEs on the link between ACEs and delinquency among youth with fewer ACEs. Conclusions: Results suggest intervention strategies that increase PCEs in adolescents' immediate environments promote better outcomes for all youth including those exposed to ACEs.