NCJ Number
142584
Journal
Criminology Volume: 31 Issue: 2 Dated: (May 1993) Pages: 173-202
Date Published
1993
Length
30 pages
Annotation
A prospective research design was used to examine the extent to which child maltreatment is associated with youthful problem behavior sufficiently serious to come to the attention of the juvenile justice authorities.
Abstract
The delinquent involvement of maltreated children (n = 2,219) with substantiated reports of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect was compared with that of nonmaltreated school (n = 387) and nonmaltreated poor children (n = 280), and this relationship was examined for complaints against juveniles for any offense and for property, violent, and status offenses. Several suspected correlates of maltreatment and delinquency were controlled. The overall experience of maltreatment, but not the specific type or frequency of maltreatment, placed children at a statistically significant increased risk. The increased risk of total delinquency complaints for maltreated children in comparison with the general school sample essentially was accounted for by their increased involvement in status offenses. Impoverished children, similar to school children, were at less risk of status offense complaints than maltreated children, but no statistically significant differences were found for overall, property, and violence complaints. 11 notes, 5 tables, and 72 references