I don't have a link to a study, but I can informally confirm your suspicions from working in a DV program in Washington state.
I was a state-licensed counselor for two years in a program where we worked with over 60 male DV perpetrators during that time period. We had several sessions where we unpacked past trauma and all but 1 of the 60 men described a childhood that put them on the high end of the ACE scale.
As others have alluded to, shaming these perpetrators rarely produced long last results. It was when we took to the time to "Seek To Understand" that we could begin to see positive results. It was a balance of seeking understanding while not condoning behavior:
Seeking understanding and compassion for those who have experienced trauma does not mean condoning abusive behavior. Sometimes the most compassionate act we can take as leaders is holding others accountable for their actions. In our DV classes, we would often respond with a Denice Frohman quote when participants would try to excuse their behaviors:
"Your wound is probably not your fault, but your healing is your responsibility."
Seeking understanding simply means looking for the circumstances behind behaviors rather than defining someone's worth by their behaviors.