Outcomes of Child Sexual Contacts: Patterns of Incarcerations From a National Sample

• NCJ Number: 205666
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 25 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2001 Pages: 719-736
• Author(s): Russell L. Curtis Jr.; Patrick Leung; Elroy Sullivan; Karl Eschbach; Margie Stinson
• Date Published: May 2001
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Two theoretical models were examined in a test of the relationships between sexual touching before puberty and later incarceration during adolescence and adulthood.

Abstract

The theoretical perspective that underlies the interpretation of a relationship between prepubertal sexual contact and incarceration stems from a synthesis of two theoretical models. The first model focuses on the outcomes of socialization, which are crime and criminality in the current study. This model locates the origin of criminal behaviors in the character and self-control that are acquired during the formative, developmental stages. The second model focuses on childhood and sociopersonal development and locates the outcomes of ineffectual and abusive socialization within a broad range of emotional experiences that produce maladaptive behaviors issuing in crime and arrests. The current study addressed the relationships between reported sexual touching before puberty and incarcerations during adolescence and adulthood for a random sample of 3,362 adults (18-59 years old) throughout the United States. Data were obtained from the 1992 National Health and Social Life Survey. In supporting inferences from the two interrelated theoretical models, the study found that respondents who reported sexual touching before puberty were significantly more likely to be incarcerated later in life. As teenagers they were also more likely to engage in behaviors that increased their risk of arrest and incarceration. These behaviors included sexual promiscuity and an early departure from the parental home. The data support the theory that early socialization may impact personal control and social compliance, forging enduring effects regarding the probabilities of offending at various ages from adolescence throughout adulthood. Specifically, the findings indicate that one type of childhood experience, i.e., sexual touching, manifests a behavioral tendency that evolves into a later, maladaptive consequence. 5 tables and 28 references