NCJ Number
72982
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 6 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1979) Pages: 239-243
Date Published
1979
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This study, a continuation of prior research, tests a theoretical model which predicts that juveniles subjected to abuse will not become aggressive but will engage in escape and social avoidance behavior.
Abstract
Data on 20 juvenile sexual abuse victims and 747 juveniles who were reported offenders but who had no records of abuse were analyzed using a chi-square test. For ease of analysis, three offenses--running away, truancy, and missing juvenile--were grouped as one crime and referred to as escape. Disturbing the peace, fighting, assault, armed robbery, and related offenses were grouped as aggressive crimes. Analysis of the juvenile delinquent patterns of the sexually abuse children did not support the hypothesis that sexual abuse renders victims more aggressive and hostile. The sexually abused victims had a low rate of crime--around 5 percent--which was not different from that for the control sample of juvenile delinquents who were not reported for abuse. However, the abused subjects did have a significantly higher rate of escape arrests than the control subjects. The results of the study challenge assumptions that escape crimes are etiologically similar to aggressive crimes, but underreporting of abuse could have influenced the result. Future research and practice should be oriented to determine the impact of diffential criminal justice treatment. A note and 10 references are provided.