Buffering Effects of Protective Factors on the Relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Teen Dating Violence Perpetration Among Early Adolescents

Research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) – including family conflict and community violence – has shown ACEs are associated with greater risk of teen dating violence (TDV) perpetration. Understanding how trajectories of ACEs are related to TDV and what may buffer that association may provide a more tailored approach to prevention. We investigate how specific protective factors (empathy, academic achievement, social support, parental monitoring, and school belonging) buffer the relationship between ACEs and TDV perpetration (physical, sexual, threatening, relational, verbal). Latent transition analysis was used to assess probability of transitioning from emergent ACEs classes in middle school to TDV perpetration classes in high school. Protective factors were examined as moderators of the transition probabilities. A 3-class solution for ACEs during middle school was found: decreasing family conflict/increasing community violence (n = 103; 6.4%); stable low family conflict/stable low community violence (n = 1,027; 63.7%); and increasing family conflict/stable high community violence (n = 481; 29.8%). Further, a 3 class solution for TDV perpetration in high school best fit the data: high all TDV (n = 113; 7%); physical and verbal TDV (n = 335; 21%); low all TDV (n = 1,163; 72%). The largest proportion (26%) of youth to transition into the physical/verbal TDV class in high school were youth in the increasing family/stable high community violence class. Similar proportions of youth in the decreasing family conflict/increasing community violence (24%) transitioned into the physical/verbal TDV class in high school. Only a small proportion of youth, regardless of ACEs class, transitioned into the high all TDV class. The largest proportion (20%) of youth to transition into the high all TDV class were from the decreasing family/increasing community violence class. Only a small proportion (~6%) of youth from the increasing family/stable high community violence class transitioned into the high all TDV class. For youth in the decreasing family/increasing community violence class, those who had higher social support were 42% less likely to transition into the high all TDV class and 34% less likely to transition into the physical/verbal TDV class compared to the low all TDV class. Parental monitoring also buffered this relationship; youth in the same ACE class were 16% less likely to transition into the physical/verbal TDV class. Similarly, empathy and school belonging emerged as significant moderators for youth in the increasing family/stable high community violence class. These findings highlight the importance of addressing early ACES to prevent other violence across adolescence.