Childhood Abuse and Criminal Behavior

Abstract

This article draws on general strain theory (GST) to develop and test a model of the childhood abuse-crime relationship. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health),(1) we find that early childhood physical and sexual abuse are robust predictors of offending in adolescence, for the full sample and in equations disaggregated by gender. GST is partially supported in that the effects of childhood physical abuse on offending for both females and males are mediated by an index of depression symptoms, whereas the effect of sexual abuse among females appears to be mediated largely by closeness to mother. The effect of childhood sexual abuse among males, however, is more robust than among females and it persists despite controls for low self-control, ties to delinquent peers, school attachment, and closeness to mother. Theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.

The Impact of Polyvictimization on Delinquency Among Latino Adolescents: A General Strain Theory Perspective

“…This third type of strain can include a wide range of stressful life events, such as criminal victimization or negative relationships with parents, teachers, or peers (Agnew & White, 1992). GST recognizes a number of victimization experiences that are likely to cause delinquency and have been neglected by other theories of crime (Agnew, 2002), and empirical tests of GST provide strong support for the victimization-delinquency relationship (Agnew, 1985(Agnew, , 2002Agnew & White, 1992;Jackson, Hanson, Amstadter, Saunders, & Kilpatrick, 2013;Mersky, Topitzes, & Reynolds, 2012;Moon, Morash, McCluskey, & Hwang, 2009;Sigfusdottir, Kristjansson, & Agnew, 2012;Thornberry, Henry, Ireland, & Smith, 2010;Watts & McNulty, 2013).…”

“…Research testing the underlying role of negative affect in the victimization-delinquency relationship provides mixed support. Although some studies have found support for the full mediation GST model (Brezina, 1998;Carson, Sullivan, Cochran, & Lersch, 2009;Hay & Evans, 2006;Moon, Blurton, & McCluskey, 2008;Peck, 2013;Wallace, Patchin, & May, 2005;Watts & McNulty, 2013), others find that negative affect only partially mediates the relationship between victimization and delinquency (Brezina, 1998;Hay & Evans, 2006;Jang & Johnson, 2003).…”

Childhood traumatic experiences and mental health problems in sexually offending and non-sexually offending juveniles

“…There is clear evidence that childhood abuse is related to an increased prevalence of mental health problems (e.g., [1–3]). Moreover, childhood abuse is a risk factor for later offending behavior [4]. Although childhood abuse is highly prevalent in juveniles who have sexually offended (JSOs) (e.g., [5]), little attention has been devoted to the direct relation between childhood abuse and mental health problems in this specific group of offenders.…”

Effects of Physical and Emotional Child Abuse and Its Chronicity on Crime Into Adulthood

“…And they add to what is known from mostly cross-sectional studies on patterns of antisocial behavior (e.g., Manly et al, 1994; Watts & McNulty, 2013). Of note in this study, the effect of parent-reported child abuse on adult crime was mediated by childhood antisocial behavior, whereas our measure of officially recorded child maltreatment predicted adult crime directly, suggesting that different sources of data on child abuse can relate to outcomes in a somewhat different manner.…”