This dissertation examines gender-specific patterns of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among justice-involved youth using network analysis. Despite experiencing higher rates of childhood adversity, female youth show lower recidivism rates than males, presenting an empirical paradox. Using a sample of 19,454 justice-involved youth (75% male), this study applies novel network methods to understand how ACEs and behavioral outcomes are organized across gender. Findings reveal distinct network architectures: female youth maintain more integrated but vulnerable networks, while males show more compartmentalized but stable structures. Female recidivists demonstrate systematic network destabilization when compared to non-recidivists, characterized by a 39% reduction in network density, while male recidivists show selective reorganization with only 7% reduction in connections. Physical abuse emerged as the most central node in female networks (strength centrality 1.12-1.41), while family violence dominated male networks (strength centrality 1.42-1.47). These findings suggest fundamentally different mechanisms linking childhood adversity to involvement with the juvenile justice system across gender, supporting the need for gender-responsive approaches to juvenile justice intervention. The identification of gender-specific central nodes and network reorganization patterns provides new frameworks for understanding recidivism risk and designing targeted interventions.
","abstract_html":"<p>This dissertation examines gender-specific patterns of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among justice-involved youth using network analysis. Despite experiencing higher rates of childhood adversity, female youth show lower recidivism rates than males, presenting an empirical paradox. Using a sample of 19,454 justice-involved youth (75% male), this study applies novel network methods to understand how ACEs and behavioral outcomes are organized across gender. Findings reveal distinct network architectures: female youth maintain more integrated but vulnerable networks, while males show more compartmentalized but stable structures. Female recidivists demonstrate systematic network destabilization when compared to non-recidivists, characterized by a 39% reduction in network density, while male recidivists show selective reorganization with only 7% reduction in connections. Physical abuse emerged as the most central node in female networks (strength centrality 1.12-1.41), while family violence dominated male networks (strength centrality 1.42-1.47). These findings suggest fundamentally different mechanisms linking childhood adversity to involvement with the juvenile justice system across gender, supporting the need for gender-responsive approaches to juvenile justice intervention. The identification of gender-specific central nodes and network reorganization patterns provides new frameworks for understanding recidivism risk and designing targeted interventions.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Yang, Jennifer"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Criminal Justice","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Kevin T. Wolff"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Deborah Koetzle","Karen Terry","Adam Fine"],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-02-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-02-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:22Z","subjects":["Other Psychology","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Adverse childhood experiences","juvenile justice"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6171","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Kevin T. 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Despite experiencing higher rates of childhood adversity, female youth show lower recidivism rates than males, presenting an empirical paradox. Using a sample of 19,454 justice-involved youth (75% male), this study applies novel network methods to understand how ACEs and behavioral outcomes are organized across gender. Findings reveal distinct network architectures: female youth maintain more integrated but vulnerable networks, while males show more compartmentalized but stable structures. Female recidivists demonstrate systematic network destabilization when compared to non-recidivists, characterized by a 39% reduction in network density, while male recidivists show selective reorganization with only 7% reduction in connections. Physical abuse emerged as the most central node in female networks (strength centrality 1.12-1.41), while family violence dominated male networks (strength centrality 1.42-1.47). These findings suggest fundamentally different mechanisms linking childhood adversity to involvement with the juvenile justice system across gender, supporting the need for gender-responsive approaches to juvenile justice intervention. The identification of gender-specific central nodes and network reorganization patterns provides new frameworks for understanding recidivism risk and designing targeted interventions.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Beyond the Sum: A Network Analysis of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Behavioral Outcomes in Justice-Involved Youth"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Kevin T. Wolff"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Deborah Koetzle","Karen Terry","Adam Fine"],"dc:creator":["Yang, Jennifer"],"dc:date.available":["2026-02-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation examines gender-specific patterns of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among justice-involved youth using network analysis. Despite experiencing higher rates of childhood adversity, female youth show lower recidivism rates than males, presenting an empirical paradox. Using a sample of 19,454 justice-involved youth (75% male), this study applies novel network methods to understand how ACEs and behavioral outcomes are organized across gender. Findings reveal distinct network architectures: female youth maintain more integrated but vulnerable networks, while males show more compartmentalized but stable structures. Female recidivists demonstrate systematic network destabilization when compared to non-recidivists, characterized by a 39% reduction in network density, while male recidivists show selective reorganization with only 7% reduction in connections. Physical abuse emerged as the most central node in female networks (strength centrality 1.12-1.41), while family violence dominated male networks (strength centrality 1.42-1.47). These findings suggest fundamentally different mechanisms linking childhood adversity to involvement with the juvenile justice system across gender, supporting the need for gender-responsive approaches to juvenile justice intervention. The identification of gender-specific central nodes and network reorganization patterns provides new frameworks for understanding recidivism risk and designing targeted interventions.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6171"],"dc:subject":["Other Psychology","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Adverse childhood experiences","juvenile justice"],"dc:title":["Beyond the Sum: A Network Analysis of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Behavioral Outcomes in Justice-Involved Youth"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Criminal Justice"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:22Z"}