NCJ Number
138282
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1992) Pages: 129-137
Date Published
1992
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study reviewed the institutional files of 604 Canadian male Federal inmates to determine the impact of various types of childhood abuse and neglect on violent and aggressive behavior in adulthood.
Abstract
The files yielded information on criminal history, demographic characteristics, family background, education, employment, intimate relationships, incidents of violence and aggression, and mental health history. Childhood abuse was defined as serious abuse or neglect that occurred when the offender was a child or adolescent. Specific types of abuse were coded as physical abuse, sexual abuse, and "other" abuse. The latter included the witnessing of interparental physical or sexual assault or subjection to extreme physical neglect. According to the institutional files, 31.1 percent of the subjects had suffered physical abuse, 11.4 percent had suffered sexual abuse, and 13.2 percent had either witnessed interparental abuse or suffered serious physical neglect. The findings indicate that men who had been abused as children were three times more likely than nonabused men to commit violent acts as adults. Moreover, specific forms of childhood abuse were associated with specific (and isomorphic) patterns of adult violence; for example, those who were physically abused were most likely to be physically violent, and those who were sexually abused were most likely to be sexually violent. These findings are consistent with the cycle-of-violence hypothesis, which states that those who experience childhood abuse become more likely to abuse others as adults, probably due to vicarious learning through exposure to violent models. Posttrauma or victimization therapy should therefore be include in the treatment of violent offenders. 2 tables and 15 references