American Journal of Public Health
Volume 107, Issue 2, 2017, Pages 306-311
Human trafficking of minors and childhood adversity in Florida (Article)
Reid J.A.* ,
Baglivio M.T. ,
Piquero A.R. ,
Greenwald M.A. ,
Epps N.
-
a
Criminology Program, University of South Florida St. Petersburg, 140 Seventh Ave. South, DAV 266, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, United States
-
b
G4S Youth Services, LLC, Tampa, FL, United States
-
c
Program in Criminology, School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, United States
-
d
Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, Tallahassee, United States
-
e
Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, Tallahassee, United States
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.
Author Keywords
[No Keywords available]
Index Keywords
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85020675468&doi=10.2105%2fAJPH.2016.303564&partnerID=40&md5=721882486e09e40cae886103a6f5b97d
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303564
ISSN: 00900036
Cited by: 23
Original Language: English