Race and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) behind bars: Examining their combined effect on prison misconduct

Research on prison misconduct has mainly focused on individual and institutional. Predictors of infractions. Prior work finds that younger, male, Black or Hispanic, and less educated individuals in prison have higher risks of misconduct than their counterparts. Despite growing attention to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in relation to criminal justice outcomes, less is known about how ACEs exposure and its intersection with race/ethnicity, relates to prison misconduct. Using data from the 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates that includes 24,848 incarcerated individuals, this study examined the relationship between exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and prison misconduct, and tests whether the impact of ACEs differs by race and ethnicity. Results from Ordinary Least Squares regression models indicated that exposure to ACEs was associated with a modest increase in overall misconduct. However, the combination of ACEs exposure and racial minority status, particularly among Black incarcerated individuals, corresponds with a substantially higher risk. These findings point to the need for trauma informed practice within correctional institution settings and for policies that recognize how childhood adversity and racialized disadvantage jointly shape behavior in prison.