Adolescent Violent Victimization and Intergenerational Educational Mobility in Middle Adulthood

This study investigates the association between adolescent violent victimization and intergenerational educational mobility (i.e., whether one’s educational attainment exceeds, matches, or falls below that of one's parents) in adulthood, as well as how this relationship varies by race and ethnicity. Data were drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), a nationally representative cohort following U.S. adolescents into adulthood. The analytic sample included 8,620 respondents with data at Wave I (1994–1995; ages 12–19) and Wave V (2016–2018; ages 33–44). Educational mobility was categorized as (a) upward, (b) stable, or (c) downward based on respondents’ highest educational attainment at Wave V compared to their parents’ highest educational attainment at Wave I. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to assess the association between self-reported violent victimization from Wave I and patterns of educational mobility. Overall, 24.8% of respondents experienced upward educational mobility, 14.9% downward mobility, and 60.3% stable educational mobility. In the full sample, violent victimization was not significantly associated with educational mobility. In stratified analyses, violent victimization was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of upward educational mobility (relative risk ratios [RRR] = 0.763, 95% CI [0.594, 0.982]) among non-Hispanic Black respondents. Findings suggest that adolescent violent victimization may constrain opportunities for upward educational mobility among Black individuals. Addressing adolescent violence exposure through prevention and school-based support may help reduce intergenerational educational inequities.