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
Repository Citation
Tadeo, Makaylen, "Adverse Childhood Experiences: Why Trafficking Victims End Up Running Away, Getting in Trouble, and Being Homeless" (2024). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 5088.
http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/37650915
Rights
IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/