Iowa State student Taea Bonner (’20 criminal justice) is the lead author of the study, “Chaotic Homes, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Serious Delinquency: Differential Effects by Race and Ethnicity,” published in the Nov. 14 online edition of Justice Quarterly. Co-authors are Matt DeLisi, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Professor, Iowa State; Gloria Jones Johnson, University Professor of sociology, Iowa State; Jonathan Caudill, University of Colorado; and Chad Trulson, University of North Texas.
The current study explored the additive effects of exposure to chaotic homes and three forms of childhood abuse and their association with serious delinquency among 2,520 adjudicated delinquents from a large Southern state. The researchers determined that chaotic homes deserve further criminological study to better articulate how and why various adverse childhood experiences translate into serious delinquency and violence.