From adverse childhood experiences to criminal involvement: unpacking the mechanisms of impulsivity and school connectedness

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been linked to criminal behavior in adulthood, yet the developmental mechanisms underlying this association remain insufficiently understood. Drawing on Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime, impulsivity may serve as a key pathway through which ACEs increase the risk of criminal involvement. At the same time, school connectedness has been widely recognized as a protective factor against delinquency and criminal behaviors. Building on the theoretical and empirical evidence, the present study aimed to examine the relationship between ACEs and criminal involvement in young adulthood, and to test the mediating role of impulsivity and the moderating role of school connectedness in shaping these pathways. Using longitudinal data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 2, 669), a moderated mediation analysis was conducted with the PROCESS macro for SPSS (Model 59). Study results showed that ACEs at age 9 were not directly associated with criminal involvement in emerging adulthood (logit b = 0.207, SE = 0.186, p = 0.267), and the ACEs x school connectedness interaction on the direct path was also non-significant (logit b = -0.015, SE = 0.014, p = 0.272). However, impulsivity at age 15 significantly mediated the association between ACEs and criminal involvement. Moreover, school connectedness at age 15 played a dual moderating effect: it buffered the impact of impulsivity on criminal involvement, but unexpectedly amplified the effect of ACEs on impulsivity. These findings underscore the complex role of school connectedness and highlight the need for interventions that both reduce ACE-related impulsivity and foster supportive school environments to mitigate the risk of later criminal involvement.