NCJ Number
114489
Date Published
1988
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Participants at a recent conference convened by the National Committee for Prevention of Child Abuse examined the relationship between child abuse and later juvenile delinquency and recommended both a renewed commitment to services for children and youth and broadened roles for the traditional formal institutions such as schools, juvenile courts, and churches.
Abstract
The conference received support from the Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Johnson Foundation. Participants reviewed retrospective and prospective analyses showing that abused children are disproportionately involved in juvenile delinquency. They agreed that a simple causal relationship does not exist between the two phenomena, however. They recommended further research on several aspects of the linkage and on alternative interventions in high-risk situations. Policy recommendations included interdisciplinary cooperation, the taking of a social history at intake for delinquency, educational strategies aimed at helping professionals to recognize delinquents as victims as well as perpetrators, differential treatment for delinquents who were abused as children, and increased prevention efforts. Notes and 56 references.