Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with negative health and behavioral outcomes across the life course, yet little is known about the association between early ACEs and social skills among youth. As social skills are often shaped by home environments, and social skills developed in adolescence often persist into adulthood, understanding the processes that drive inequalities in developmental outcomes, such as social skills, is imperative. The present study used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCW; n = 3245) and ordinary least squares regression analyses to explore the associations between early ACEs by age 5 (i.e., cumulative, timing, duration) and youth social skills (components include: emotional maturity, communication skills, intentionality, and social competence). The weighted sample consisted of urban-born youth (44% female) with a mean age of 15. Racial/ethnic breakdown of the sample is 37% non-Hispanic White, 25% non-Hispanic Black, 28% Hispanic, and 10% ‘Other’. Overall, estimates suggest that nearly 79% of these youth experienced at least one ACE by age 5. Furthermore, the results indicated that as the number of early ACEs increased, deficits in social skills also increased. Moreover, the timing of exposure to early ACEs (i.e., high early, intermittent, chronic high) decreased social skills. The findings underscore the unique and robust links between early ACEs and youth social skills, underlining the importance of ACE exposure in social skill development.

不良童年经历 (ACE) 与整个生命过程中的负面健康和行为结果有关，但对早期 ACE 与青少年社交技能之间的关联知之甚少。由于社交技能通常受到家庭环境的影响，并且在青春期发展的社交技能通常会持续到成年期，因此必须了解导致发展结果不平等的过程，例如社交技能。本研究使用来自脆弱家庭和儿童福利研究 (FFCW; n = 3245）和普通最小二乘回归分析，以探索 5 岁早期 ACE（即累积、时间、持续时间）与青年社交技能（组成部分包括：情绪成熟度、沟通技巧、意向性和社交能力）之间的关联。加权样本由平均年龄为 15 岁的城市出生青年（44% 女性）组成。样本的种族/族裔细分为 37% 非西班牙裔白人、25% 非西班牙裔黑人、28% 西班牙裔和 10% '其他'。总体而言，估计表明近 79% 的这些年轻人在 5 岁时至少经历过一次 ACE。此外，结果表明，随着早期 ACE 数量的增加，社交技能的缺陷也增加了。此外，暴露于早期 ACE 的时间（即早期高、间歇性、慢性高）降低了社交技能。