Adolescent Risk Factors for Child Maltreatment

• NCJ Number: 247112
• Journal: Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 38 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2014 Pages: 706-722
• Author(s): Terence P. Thornberry; Mauri Matsuda; Sarah J. Greenman; Megan Bears Augustyn; Kimberly L. Henry; Carolyn A. Smith; Timothy O. Ireland
• Date Published: April 2014
• Length: 17 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01CE001572; 2006-JW-BX-0074; 86-JN-CX-0007; 96-MU-FX-0014; 2004-MU-FX-0062; R01DA020195; R01DA005512
• Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation; Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institute of Mental Health; Ctr's for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study identified risk factors among adolescents that are linked to their committing child maltreatment as adults.

Abstract

The study found that in early adolescence, youth who come from families with structural disadvantage are at increased risk for committing child maltreatment as adults. The disadvantages include low parental education, family poverty, a mother who gave birth as a teen, and many changes in parent figures. Also, youth who were disengaged from school, performed poorly in school, and had low expectations for college were more likely to maltreat children as adults. In addition, involvement in antisocial behavior, especially problem marijuana use and problem alcohol use was strongly related to later child maltreatment. During later adolescence, the impact of early and disorderly transitions into adulthood was a significant risk factor for later child maltreatment. Further, when risk factors increased across developmental domains, the risk for child maltreatment increased significantly. Implications of these findings are drawn for preventive treatment programs, with attention to early interventions that target salient risk factors in multiple domains. Data for this study were obtained from the Rochester Youth Development Study, a longitudinal study begun in 1988 with a sample of 1,000 seventh and eighth graders. Participants were interviewed 14 times, with the last assessment conducted at age 31. Child maltreatment as an adult was measured by substantiated reports from child protective services records. Risk factors were examined for 10 developmental domains. 1 figure, 6 tables, 93 references, and 1 appendix