This study examines the relationship between criminal history and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and how they collectively predict (a) recidivism and (b) positive social functioning among multi-problem young adults. Criminal records and self-report data regarding ACEs and adult education/employment and quality of life (QoL) were collected for 692 multiproblem young adults (18–27 years). Results indicated that an extensive criminal history was related to non-violent and violent recidivism and lack of involvement in education/employment in young adulthood. On the contrary, a higher number of ACEs was related to lower QoL later in life, while this was not associated with recidivism or education/employment. These findings highlight again that past criminal behavior is a strong predictor of future criminality, particularly within this group of young adults with multiple problems. Furthermore, experiencing negative events in childhood shows to have long-term negative effects on QoL even for these individuals who already experience multiple life problems. Implications are discussed.

这项研究调查了犯罪史和不良儿童经历（ACE）之间的关系，以及它们如何共同预测（a）累犯和（b）多问题年轻人中的积极社会功能。收集了关于ACEs和成人教育/就业与生活质量（QoL）的犯罪记录和自我报告数据，针对692个多问题年轻人（18-27岁）。结果表明，广泛的犯罪史与非暴力和暴力累犯有关，并且在成年后未参与教育/就业。相反，较高数量的ACE与生活中较低的生活质量有关，而这与累犯或教育/就业无关。这些发现再次表明，过去的犯罪行为是未来犯罪的有力预测指标，特别是在这个有多个问题的年轻人中。此外，即使对于已经经历多种生活问题的这些人，在儿童时期经历负面事件也显示出对生活质量的长期负面影响。讨论了含义。