NCJ Number
199707
Date Published
January 2004
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study used longitudinal data on childhood risk of
maltreatment and adult outcomes from a sample of randomly
selected youth from a mixed urban and rural, demographically
diverse population.
Abstract
The purposes of the study were to identify higher adult arrest
rates in those with a history of childhood maltreatment; to
determine the extent to which higher arrest rates may be
attributed to common risks for maltreatment and arrest; and to
estimate the proportion of young-adult arrests that may be due to
child maltreatment and compare that fraction to those due to
punishment that is more widely used and considered acceptable in
the general population. The data were obtained from the Children
in the Community cohort originally sampled on the basis of
residence in two upstate New York counties in 1975. The members
of the cohort were born between 1965 and 1974, and data were
collected by maternal interview on a range of health, behavioral,
and environmental factors. Parents and children were interviewed
separately in three follow-ups in 1983, 1985-86, and 1991-94. Data
on abuse history were obtained from the New York State Child
Protection Agency, self-reports of abuse from study respondents
who were 18 years old or older, and selected maternal responses
to questions. Of the 35 officially identified cases, 4 involved
sexual abuse with or without other abuse or neglect, 16 were
cases of physical abuse with or without neglect, and 15 were
cases of neglect. Only nine cases involved an overlap between
self-reported and official determinations of abuse or neglect.
Arrest data were combined from New York State and FBI records.
Although the proportion of each group of maltreated children ever
arrested as an adult varied significantly, the effect was
overwhelmingly attributable to high rates among those with an
official record of physical abuse, with a lesser elevation among
those with an official history of neglect. Among those arrested
for a crime against a person, high rates were found for the
officially identified physical abuse victims and for those with
either self-reported or official histories of sexual abuse. The
most distinctive finding was that victims of sexual abuse were
also more likely to have been arrested for crimes against
persons, despite the fact that this group was mostly self-reported. The findings held when controls were applied for demographic risks and early childhood punishment history.
Implications are drawn for future research and for practitioners.
5 exhibits and 9 references
Date Published: January 1, 2004