Background Exposure to child maltreatment is a risk factor for offending. Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs; child maltreatment and other chronic stressors) is linked to violence involvement and serious offending. Despite an intergenerational transmission of offending behaviour from parent to child, the intergenerational continuity of ACEs remains relatively underexplored. Such understanding is required to break intergenerational cycles and ensure the prevention of ACEs for future generations.

Objective To understand the intergenerational continuity of ACEs within an offender sample.

Methods A face-to-face questionnaire with a convenience sample of UK male prisoners aged 18+. Using the CDC short ACE tool and WHO’s Short Child Maltreatment Questionnaire, participants self-reported their exposure to 10 ACE types before the age of 18. Participants were asked to report if they had ever fathered a child, and if so, ACE exposure for each child fathered (with all children recorded as experiencing parental criminal justice system involvement). Of 470 respondents, analysis was limited to 294 respondents who had fathered children (n=671 children). Chi-square tests were used to explore the relationships between parental ACE exposure and child ACE exposure, with logistic regression controlling for child age and gender, and father ethnicity and number of children.

Results The prevalence of exposure to ≥4 ACEs was 45.6% for fathers and 21.8% for children. Father ACE count was significantly associated with child ACE count. 9.7% of fathers who had experienced 1 ACE and 27.9% of fathers who had experienced ≥4 ACEs reported they had a child who had ≥4 ACEs (p<0.001). In logistic regression analyses compared to fathers who had experienced no ACEs, fathers with ≥4 ACEs were 2.9 times more likely to have a child who had experienced 2–3 ACEs and 6.6 times more likely to have had a child who experienced ≥4 ACEs.

Conclusions Although not deterministic, findings indicate the increased risk of intergenerational continuity of ACEs from parent to child within offender populations. ACE exposure may impact parenting behaviours, such as violence perpetration. Findings are of use to inform policy to support those already involved in criminal justice systems to break cycles of childhood abuse, neglect and adversity.