It is widely understood that childhood adversity increases a person’s risk of poor mental health throughout their lifetime, as well as a number of other difficulties. Children exposed to different types of adversity are more likely to experience mental ill-health – and the more they experience, the longer it lasts, and the more severe it is, the greater the risk (Khan, 2016). It is also well established that children with early mental health difficulties are at greater risk of a number of difficulties later on, including delinquency and involvement with the justice system (Morrison Gutman et al, 2018).
This new study by Nicholas Kofi Adjei and colleagues looks at whether people who experience childhood adversities are more likely to be involved with the police or carry a knife or other weapon at age 17. It uses data from a major population survey to ask this question, and explores the extent to which childhood adversity Contributing to youth participation with criminal justice System in Britain.
The impact of childhood adversities can extend far beyond early life, shaping mental health and behavioral outcomes in adolescence.
methods
This study data is taken from Millennium Cohort StudyA large-scale longitudinal study where over 18,000 people born between 2000 and 2002 are regularly surveyed to find out about their lives.
it identifies four types of adversity (and combinations thereof) that remain constant:
- poverty,
- Alcohol consumption by parents,
- parental mental health difficulties, and
- Domestic violence and abuse.
It looks at which children have experienced these by the age of 14, and compares it to rates Police involvement And carry weapons At 17. It explores a range of ‘trajectories’, including those where poverty is combined with other forms of adversity, and those that experience none of these.
Result
The study’s findings point to the importance of the relationship between poverty and other forms of adversity as a driver of later difficulties. Of the entire sample of 17-year-olds, 20% reported some involvement with police, while 6% reported that they had carried or used weapons.
Compared to young people who experienced neither persistent poverty nor other identified forms of long-term adversity, the study found increased rates of police involvement and weapon carrying among those who had either or both, but to very different extents.
- The greatest danger had to be faced by those youth who faced both Persistent poverty and parental mental illness during childhood: With 27.8% police involvement and 8.6% weapon carrying rate.
- who are experiencing Persistent domestic abuse and violenceor with whom persistent povertyBut the risk of none of the other adverse events was higher than average.
- Parental mental ill-health and alcohol use (but not persistent poverty) were both associated with a slightly increased risk compared with those who experienced neither of these.
The study goes a step further to explore the extent to which early childhood adversities can be attributed to gun carrying and police involvement. They conclude that:
About 32% of cases involving weapons and 24% of cases of police contact by age 17 were due to persistent poverty and family adversity in childhood.
Or to put it differently, if these childhood adversities did not exist, levels of violence and police activity could be reduced by 32% and 24%, respectively.
Persistent poverty and family adversity in childhood were responsible for 32% of weapons involvement and 24% of police contact at age 17.
conclusion
This study reinforces a body of evidence about the interrelationships between childhood and family adversity, poor mental health and involvement in offending and violence. Although the connections between these phenomena are more complex than straightforward relationships, they nevertheless present a particularly compelling picture. The harm of long-term toxicity and family poverty.
As we know from many other researches, Poverty is a major risk factor for mental health, especially for children (Dewey, 2022). Besides, it also has an important contribution in practical challenges. Racism and poor housing (Davey et al, 2023).
This study concludes that the structural adversities faced by families living in poverty significantly increase children’s risk of later involvement in crime. This means that It is necessary to deal with losses systematically If children are to be provided with opportunities for a better life in the long term.
Dealing with disadvantage systematically is essential if children are to have better life chances in the long term.
Strengths and limitations
The study’s use of the Millennium Cohort Study is its greatest strength, and also its main limitation. This is a large data set that has already generated many insights into the trajectories of a particular generation of children, youth, and now young adults (e.g. Morrison Gutman et al., 2018). It has helped us to see how mental health is linked with other issues in young people’s lives. The insights we have gained from this, especially as time has moved forward and we can begin to see connections across the course of people’s lives, have helped to establish mental health as a product of our life experiences, environments and circumstances.
Being based on a large data set is also the main limitation of this study. It cannot, and does not claim to, provide an in-depth look at the relationships between family poverty, childhood adversities, and later outcomes. The way in which early life experiences influence mental health, and how mental health influences a person’s involvement in violence or offending, is complex.
The study is also not able to take into account important risk factors such as systemic racism and discrimination. These are important, given the effects of racism on mental health, and perhaps more importantly on policing and the way youth from racialized communities are more often treated punitively than their white counterparts (a major risk factor for the mental health of young black people in particular) (Abdinasir and Carty, 2021). This is important because there is a risk that this study, and others like it, may be (mis)interpreted in a way that further stigmatizes families dealing with the mental health of parents or children, or perpetuates simplistic interpretations of the relationship between poor mental health and violence.
The large dataset used by this study is its main strength but also its main limitation; Such a dataset is not able to capture the nuances of the relationship between childhood adversities and crime in later life.
Implications for practice
study makes one A persuasive case for action to tackle family and child poverty As a priority of the government. In the UK, we have seen some positive steps forward recently with legislation to end the punitive two-child limit for Universal Credit; A measure which in itself can lift thousands of children above the poverty line. But it also comes at a time of deepening poverty in the UK, which requires concerted and sustained action to protect children from the harmful and long-lasting effects it has on their health.
The message here is clear: Persistent poverty harms children’s mental health and has huge long-term costs. Tackling poverty and economic inequality can be an important component of a national effort to reverse rising rates of mental distress (Davie, 2022). But there needs to be action as well as action to deal with it racial injustice, gender based violence, online lossand this housing crisisAmong other toxic contributors to mental ill health.
Of course, this also has broader implications. Effectively supporting parents struggling with mental ill health or substance abuse problems is likely to benefit both them and their children. Yet comparatively little attention is paid to the parenting needs of people with mental health difficulties. Building on the achievements of NHS investment in perinatal mental health services in England, this should include, for example, providing support to more mothers and people giving birth (and their partners). investment in health tourism (To support government guidance with the resources necessary to implement the Healthy Children Programme) (HM Government, 2026); Creation of parent-child services those that have a compelling economic case for long-term benefits to infants (Blissett et al, 2026); And Providing evidence-based parenting programs On a large scale (Davy et al, 2023).
The message here is clear: persistent poverty harms children’s mental health and has huge long-term costs. Tackling poverty and economic inequality can be an important component of the national effort to address rising rates of mental distress.
Statement of Interests
Andy Bell declares no conflict of interest.
Editor
Edited by Laura Hemming.
Link
primary paper
Nicholas Kofi Adjei, Kenisha Russell Johnson, Jones Opoku-Ware, Sonny Yaya, Yanhua Chen, Dawra Bennett, Ruth McGovern, Luke Munford, Mitchell Black, David Taylor-Robinson (2025) Impact of familial childhood adversity on risk of violence and police involvement in adolescence: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study.
Other references
Abdinasir, K and Carty, S (2021) The Mental Health of Young Black Men During COVID-19 – Center for Mental Health
Blissett, C. et al (2026) Why children’s first relationships matter – Mental Health Center
Davie, E. (2022) Briefing 58: Poverty, economic inequality and mental health – Center for Mental Health
Davie, E. et al (2023) Becoming Stronger Together – Mental Health Center
HM Government (2026) High impact areas for health visiting (0 to 5 years old) – GOV.UK
Khan (2016) missed opportunities
Morrison Gutman, L. et al (2018) Millennial Children – Mental Health Center
