Citation

Reid JA, Baglivio MT, Piquero AR, Greenwald MA, Epps N. Am. J. Public Health 2016; 107(2): 306-311.

Affiliation

Joan A. Reid is with the Criminology Program, University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Michael T. Baglivio is with G4S Youth Services, LLC, Tampa, FL. Alex R. Piquero is with the Program in Criminology and the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas. Mark A. Greenwald and Nathan Epps are with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, Tallahassee.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2016.303564

PMID

27997232

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To examine the link between human trafficking of minors and childhood adversity.

METHODS: We compared the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and cumulative childhood adversity (ACE score) among a sample of 913 juvenile justice-involved boys and girls in Florida for whom the Florida child abuse hotline accepted human trafficking abuse reports between 2009 and 2015 with those of a matched sample.

RESULTS: ACE composite scores were higher and 6 ACEs indicative of child maltreatment were more prevalent among youths who had human trafficking abuse reports. Sexual abuse was the strongest predictor of human trafficking: the odds of human trafficking was 2.52 times greater for girls who experienced sexual abuse, and there was a 8.21 times greater risk for boys who had histories of sexual abuse.

CONCLUSIONS: Maltreated youths are more susceptible to exploitation in human trafficking. Sexual abuse in connection with high ACE scores may serve as a key predictor of exploitation in human trafficking for both boys and girls. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print December 20, 2016: e1-e6. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2016.303564).

Language: en