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Background: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been associated with a greater risk of later criminal offending. However, existing research in this area has been primarily conducted in Western developed countries and cross-cultural studies are rare. Objectives: This study examined the relationship between ACEs and criminal behaviors in young adults living in 10 countries located across five continents, after accounting for sex, age, and cross-national differences. Participants and setting: In total, 3797 young adults aged between 18 and 20 years (M = 18.97; DP = 0.81) were assessed locally in community settings within the 10 countries.

This study was conducted to assess the predictive validity of the Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) in young offenders of Arab descent, living in Spain. To address this subject, the Inventory was administered to a sample of Arab minor offenders ( N = 116), and results were compared to a sample of non-Arab minor offenders ( N = 140), who were all aged between 14 and 17 years. The charges filed after the date of the first assessment carried out by the Youth Offending Team were coded during the follow-up period (2012-2017). The Inventory showed a similar predictive validity for both groups. However, the values were always slightly higher in the non-Arab group than in the Arab group. With subtle cultural differences, the YLS/CMI seems to be a risk instrument capable of predicting recidivism among Arab young offenders.

One of the most evident negative outcomes of adverse childhood experiences at vulnerable ages in childhood and adolescence seems to be intergenerational transmission or continuity in later periods of life. Most studies analyze this phenomenon in terms of direct victimizations, but what about the intergenerational transmission of more indirect victimizations, such as household dysfunctions (substance abuse, mental illness, or incarceration in the family)? The objective of this study is to examine if young adults present similar dysfunctions to those they experienced in their family as a child. This study included 420 Spanish young adults aged between 18 and 20 (M = 18.92), 63.3% of whom were females. All of them answered selfreport questionnaires about household dysfunctions during their childhood and adolescence, and a general questionnaire about current similar behavior (drug and alcohol use, mental health problems and psychological distress, coping strategies, detentions/arrests, and deviant behavior), at the same data collection period. Both regression models and fuzzy qualitative analyses support the intergenerational transmission or continuity of household dysfunctions in this Spanish population. Some household dysfunctions presented a more univocal and specific intergenerational transmission process and others were mainly present in combination to yield negative results.

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