Peer-reviewed article

Longitudinal patterns of adverse childhood experiences and ‘NEET’ (Not in Education, Employment or Training) status in young adulthood

Rajan Z, Hammerton G, Farooq B, Howe LD, Soares AG et al. · 31 Jul 2026

Summary

Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001

This longitudinal study followed 8,851 British children from birth into young adulthood to understand how different patterns of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) affect whether young people are in education, employment, or training. Researchers identified five distinct patterns of ACEs across childhood and adolescence and found that early childhood abuse combined with parental mental health problems, and persistent parental mental health problems, were most strongly linked to being unemployed and out of education. The findings suggest that addressing ACEs early in childhood, especially abuse and parental mental health issues, could improve young people's later education and employment outcomes.

Key points

Early childhood abuse combined with parental mental health problems was associated with 79% increased odds of persistent NEET status
Persistent parental mental health problems across childhood was associated with 72% increased odds of persistent NEET status
Mid-childhood and adolescence ACEs were strongly associated with NEET at age 20 (peak prevalence) but not with persistent NEET over time
Associations remained significant after adjusting for socioeconomic background
No significant sex differences were found in how ACE patterns affected NEET outcomes

Limitations

The study uses a single UK cohort (ALSPAC), which may limit generalisability to other countries or populations with different socioeconomic structures. ACE reporting combines prospective and retrospective questionnaires, which may introduce measurement error, particularly for retrospectively reported events.

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: Longitudinal studies show adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) to be associated with increased risks of being ‘Not in Education, Employment, or Training’ (NEET) in young adulthood. However, they rarely account for ACE types, combinations, and timing. We examined whether longitudinal ACE patterns were associated with later NEET status. Methods: Participants (N=8,851) were from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a UK-based prospective cohort. ACEs were reported by a mixture of prospective and retrospective questionnaires. NEET status was self-reported eight times at ages 17-30. Latent class analysis identified distinct patterns of ACEs across childhood and adolescence. Logistic regressions examined associations of ACE classes with persistent NEET (NEET for ≥ 2 consecutive timepoints) and NEET at age 20 (peak prevalence), adjusted for socioeconomic confounders. Sensitivity analyses tested for sex differences. Results: Of five classes, early childhood abuse and parental mental health problems and persistent parental mental health problems demonstrated strong associations with persistent NEET compared to a low ACEs class [adjusted odds ratio, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.79(1.07,3.00) and 1.72(1.11,2.66)] with similar point estimates for NEET at age 20, but wider CIs [1.60(0.86,2.99) and 1.53(0.88,2.65)]. A mid-childhood and adolescence ACEs class was strongly associated with NEET at age 20 [2.80(1.39,5.64)] but not persistent NEET [0.69(0.17,2.83)]. No evidence of sex differences was found (p-value=0.30). Conclusions: Certain ACE patterns are associated with increased odds of different NEET outcomes, after accounting for socioeconomic background. Addressing ACEs early in childhood, particularly abuse and parental mental health, could improve education and employment outcomes.

Findings the Hub has extracted

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Problem

Young people not progressing into education, employment, or training (NEET status) due to adverse childhood experiences

Intervention: Identification of ACE patterns through longitudinal follow-up from childhood to young adulthood; no specific intervention was tested, but the study recommends early intervention targeting ACEs
Population: 8,851 participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) in the UK, followed from birth to ages 17-30

Key finding

Early childhood abuse and parental mental health problems: adjusted odds ratio 1.79 (95% CI 1.07-3.00) for persistent NEET

Experimental