The Role of Adverse Childhood Experiences in the Trajectories to Adulthood of Chinese Youth: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

This study uses data from a retrospective survey of the life history of participants from five cohorts born between 1930 and 1979, to analyze the role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). We found that ACEs have significant effects on the transition of young Chinese people into adulthood. Young people who have experienced more ACEs were more likely to transition to adulthood earlier, and accelerate their acceptance of adult social roles, and young adults with a high incidence of ACEs also have an increasing probability of falling into the disadvantaged or least successful trajectory to adulthood. More ACEs are associated with a decreased probability of being classified into the delayed and advantaged trajectories into adulthood characterized by high education and stable work, and an increased probability of being classified into the early and disadvantaged trajectories into adulthood characterized by unemployment, early marriage, and more children.