“The Traps Started During My Childhood”: The Role of Substance Abuse in Women’s Responses to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

ABSTRACT

The gendered pathways perspective seeks to identify the biological, psychological, and social realities that lead to women’s law-breaking behavior. Prior research in this area demonstrates the link between women’s adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and involvement in the criminal justice system later in life. The current study fills an important gap in the literature by providing a phenomenological description of the impacts ACEs had upon 19 community supervised women’s lives. Their stories illuminate the need to consider multiple forms of ACEs, from physical and sexual abuse to the death of a loved one. Interviewees’ most prevalent response to ACEs was substance abuse. Three major themes related to their pathways to substance abuse emerged: coping/self-medication, escaping insecure households, and familial influences. Narratives were developed around each theme to provide an in-depth understanding of women’s ACEs and substance abuse. Theoretical and policy implications for women involved in the criminal justice system are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Females
• gender issues
• trauma
• adult
• adult survivor

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the 19 women who participated in this study and shared their experiences. We would also like to acknowledge and thank Saleena Alverez for her assistance with data entry.

Disclosure of Interest

Authors declare that they have no conflicts to report.

Ethical Standards and Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA (Protocol #1063710) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all participants for being included in the study.

Notes

¹ Institutional supervision typically refers to supervision in jail or prison. Prison is reserved for those convicted of felonies and are typically sentenced to over one year. Community supervision refers to those on probation (an alternative sanction to incarceration) or parole (supervision after release from prison). Persons may also serve probation following a short-term jail sanction.

² ACE scores are the summed total result of yes/no responses to self-report or interview questions typically regarding 10 different types of ACEs: emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, physical neglect, family violence, household substance abuse, household mental illness, parental separation or divorce, and household member incarceration (see Baglivio & Epps, 2016).

³ The results discussed in the current manuscript have not been published elsewhere.

⁴ Childhood was defined as any events or experiences occurring before the age of 18.

⁵ For the full interview script, see Boppre (2018).

⁶ The 2013 Reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act states that minors cannot consent to engage in commercial sex. In contrast to federal legislation, some states believe a minor can consent to commercial sex and require proof of coercion or force in order to construe the sex trafficked child as a victim rather than a criminal. State legislation that criminalizes child prostitution both denies them access to crucial resources intended for trafficked victims and ignores their complex backgrounds (Butler, 2014).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by funding awarded to Breanna Boppre by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV): President’s Foundation Graduate Fellowship, Summer Doctoral Research Fellowship, and Graduate Processional & Student Association Research Funding Sponsorship.