An Examination of Direct and Indirect Effects of Maltreatment Dimensions and Other Ecological Risks on Persistent Youth Offending

Abstract

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.

Child maltreatment and criminal convictions in youth: The role of gender, ethnicity and placement experiences in an Australian population

“…Although there is substantial evidence that young people who have experienced childhood maltreatment are more likely to engage in criminal behavior, both as adolescents and as adults (Jonson-Reid, 2002;Ryan & Testa, 2005;Smith & Thornberry, 1995;Thornberry, Henry, Ireland, & Smith, 2010;Widom, 1989), it is also clear that the pathways from maltreatment to offending are complex (Lansford et al, 2007;Mersky & Reynolds, 2007;Smith, Park, Ireland, Elwyn, & Thornberry, 2013;Verrecchia, Fetzer, Lemmon, & Austin, 2010). For example, it is well established that the vast majority of young people who have experienced maltreatment do not go on to commit crime (DeGue & Widom, 2009;Widom, 1989), and a range of risk and protective factors have been shown to influence these developmental pathways (for detailed reviews see Kerig & Becker, 2015;Malvaso, Delfabbro & Day, 2016).…”

Cumulative Childhood Maltreatment and Depression Among Incarcerated Youth

“…Childhood maltreatment is, in fact, widely recognized as a risk factor for involvement in criminal activity, whereby a history of abuse or neglect in childhood has been reported to increase the likelihood of antisocial and delinquent behavior (Malinosky-Rummell & Hansen, 1993;Verrecchia, Fetzer, Lemmon, & Austin, 2010). Without intervention, these maltreated youth are more likely to commit a violent offense (Widom, 1992), have an earlier onset for the initiation of delinquent behaviors (Rivera & Widom, 1990), and are at a higher risk for criminal recidivism and for involvement in the adult criminal justice system (Visher, Lattimore, & Linster, 1991).…”

Multiple Service System Involvement and Later Offending Behavior: Implications for Prevention and Early Intervention

“…Extending some existing literature, 6,7,9,11,19 multiple system involvement in childhood was generally indicative of justice system involvement in adolescence, adulthood, or both, but not always. In most cases, the clusters of problem behaviors and resulting justice system involvement lent support to the import of cumulative risk rather than a single, more powerful factor predicting violent or long-term offending.…”

“…For example, children who were involved with both income maintenance and child welfare systems were about twice as likely to have delinquency petitions as other youths, 6 and a sample of youths with income maintenance and child welfare histories had an average of 3 delinquency petitions per child. 7 …”