NCJ Number
88192
Date Published
1982
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The identification of children at risk for delinquency is equivalent to the identification of children at high risk for abuse and neglect, because child maltreatment is a common early precursor of delinquency.
Abstract
The influence of early life experiences on later behavior is exemplified by the finding that maltreating parents were almost always the victims of significant neglect, with or without physical abuse, in their own earliest years. A high proportion of delinquent youths were abused or neglected as young children, regardless of their socioeconomic status. Although it would be overly simplistic to assert that child abuse causes delinquency, maltreated infants demonstrate certain psychological patterns that become embedded in their personality development and make them at high risk for the later appearance of delinquency. Among these patterns are low self-esteem, a lack of empathy for others, a lack of identity and inner controls, a readiness to allow orders from others to guide actions, learning difficulties, and a readiness to discharge aggression. A growing body of experience provides the basis for predicting the potential for poor parenting or maltreatment in a family. Prediction of high-risk families would permit the focusing of preventive interventions where they would be the most productive. Such intervention has significantly reduced the expected amount of serious neglect and abuse in high-risk families. Observations of parents and parent-infant interactions in the prenatal period and during labor, delivery, and early postpartum provide the most accurate predictive information. Regular personnel could conduct these observations in a noninvasive manner. Effective interventions consist of followup care by one physician and regular home visits by nurses or lay visitors. Reference notes are provided.