Award Date

May 2024

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Criminal Justice

First Committee Member

Margaret Alexis Kennedy

Second Committee Member

Alexandra Nur

Third Committee Member

Amber Krushas

Fourth Committee Member

Emily Troshynski

Fifth Committee Member

Wendy Hoskins

Number of Pages

102

Abstract

Sex trafficking of youth is something that requires people to think deeper as to how they ended up trading sex in the first place. Literature has shown that within adverse childhood experiences, abuse plays a significant factor. There are many types of abuse and a variety of harmful effects it can have on a child that is not only limited to physical and mental health but also to how they grow up and live in the world. Using the life course theory, this current study wanted to apply the concepts to explain how specific adverse childhood experiences in the form of abuse generally, but also specifically with emotional abuse, can have detrimental effects on a child and continue to harm them in adulthood. The current study used secondary data collected from a sample of people who have been sex trafficked to observe how their life experiences of abuse (generally), emotional abuse, and other adverse childhood experiences, along with potential racial/ethnic influences, have a possible relationship as predictors of negative outcomes by running away, homelessness, and juvenile justice engagement that includes being arrested, held in juvenile detention, and adjudicated as a delinquent. Findings confirmed that emotional abuse was significant in increasing the likelihood of those negative life outcomes. Additional findings, limitations, and implications are discussed.

Keywords

Adverse childhood experiences; Emotional abuse; homelessness; juvenile justice; running away; sex trafficking

Disciplines

Criminology | Criminology and Criminal Justice

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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