No abstract

The study examines the relationship between maltreatment recurrence and various dimensions of delinquency among a cohort of at-risk youths. The results indicate that maltreatment recurrence is a significant predictor of the initiation, continuation, and severity of delinquency. The relationship continues to exist in the presence of other delinquency risk factors. Within the maltreatment subgroup, a curvilinear pattern is observed. This pattern suggests that child welfare placement services reduce the effects of maltreatment recurrence on chronic and violent offending. The maltreatment recurrence-delinquency relationship follows a linear pattern among youths receiving in-home services and a curvilinear pattern among those receiving placement services.

The study describes implementation of legislation that excludes youth offenders from juvenile court jurisdiction and examines two elements of deterrence theory that underscored the legislation’s rationale. Between-court analyses comparing youths decertified to juvenile court with those remaining in criminal court report no between-court differences concerning the certainty of punishment. Although the criminal court was more likely to impose more severe sentences, controls on legal sentencing factors explained the between-group differences. Legal and extralegal factors predicted the likelihood of certainty and severity of punishment within the juvenile and adult systems respectively. Implications for the restorative justice model are discussed.

The study examined the ecological model by testing the direct and indirect effects of four maltreatment dimensions (supervisory neglect, age at onset, recurrence, and severity) on persistent youth offending. A path model was constructed hypothesizing that maltreatment, family functioning, and community risks would increase behavior and academic problems in childhood and delinquency in adolescence. The design featured within-group analysis that included methodological and statistical controls determining how variations in maltreatment affect delinquent behavior among maltreated children. Supervisory neglect produced direct and indirect effects. Maltreatment severity produced direct effects only. Family functioning and community risks produced indirect effects. The results support the ecological explanation of the maltreatment/delinquency link.The key implication of the study is that accurate and early identification of maltreatment, coupled with interventions that improve parental discipline and supervision, will reduce persistent youth offending while also mediating the effects of other risk factors.