The study of life course patterns of offending, or criminal careers, offers particular insight into economic and social costs associated with offending, more broadly, as well as the need to prevent such costs. As such, a large literature is devoted to identifying various patterns of offending, as well as the risk/protective factors associated with these patterns to prevent their manifestation. Using data from the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS), this work first estimates adolescent to middle adulthood patterns of self-reported offending (ages 14–48) using group-based trajectory models (n = 873). Then, using mulinomial logistic regression models, it examines how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), are individually, cumulatively, and conceptually (Dimensional Model of Adversity and Psychopathology; DMAP) related to and distinguish between the various, identified patterns of offending. Seven general patterns of self-reported offending emerged, including non-offending, chronic, and late-bloomer offending patterns. Additional patterns followed a more age-normative pattern of offending (bell-shaped curve) but varied in the timing and frequency of offending. Various individual ACEs and the cumulative number of ACEs distinguished between the pattern of non-offending and all other patterns of offending, but only homelessness and sexual abuse distinguished between patterns that involved offending. ACEs in the form of threats or deprivations, in line with the DMAP perspective, offered limited utility in distinguishing between patterns of self-reported offending. Findings suggest the need to target particular ACEs to stymie longer-term patterns of offending that may be particularly costly to individuals and society.
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