NCJ Number
189971
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2001 Pages: 457-474
Date Published
August 2001
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study compared the effects of child abuse and neglect on criminal offending for males and females.
Abstract
Despite ample evidence of the relationship between childhood maltreatment and offending, the ways in which the cycle of violence operates remain unclear. The contradictions in research findings -- with retrospective research demonstrating that most offenders have histories of abuse, and prospective work indicating that the majority of victims do not become involved in crime -- highlight the importance of identifying the intermediating variables that lead from maltreatment to criminality. This article summarized previous investigations of the cycle of violence, described methodological and theoretical weaknesses of earlier work, discussed the intermediating circumstances that may affect the cycle, identifies whether these processes were similar for women and men, and suggested areas of improvement for future research. It highlighted the need for research on gender differences in the cycle of violence, on the impact of demographic variables on crime, and on whether maltreatment affected individuals in different ways. Tables, notes, references