Effects of Child Maltreatment, Cumulative Victimization Experiences, and Proximal Life Stress on Adult Crime and Antisocial Behavior

• NCJ Number: 250506
• Author(s): Todd I. Herrenkohl; Hyunzee Jung; Jungeun Olivia Lee; Moo-Hyun Kim
• Date Published: January 2016
• Length: 21 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2012-IJ-CX-0023
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored)

Annotation

This study replicated and extended research findings on subtypes of child maltreatment, childhood exposure to domestic violence, subsequent forms of victimization, and stress in relation to antisocial behavior, crime, and perpetration/victimization related to intimate partner violence in adulthood; also examined were protective factors for maltreated children and predictors of self-reported crime desistence.

Abstract

Findings of seven publications that were the products of this secondary data analysis provide additional evidence of the relationship between child maltreatment and adult antisocial behavior and crime. They also show instances in which this relationship is influenced by other variables, including those that pertain to the socialization of peers and partners. Findings suggest the possibility that physical, emotional, and sexual abuse are linked differently to self-reported crime and that predictors and pathways differ at times on the basis of gender. In addition, several analyses show the risk-lowering effects of education variables (e.g., educational engagement, academic achievement, and high school graduation), suggesting the importance of incorporating perspectives on schooling and education in crime prevention and criminal justice policy. Data for this study are from the Lehigh Longitudinal Study, which is an ongoing prospective examination of children and families that began in the 1970s. The original samples consisted of 457 children. Just over 80 percent of the children, now adults, were assessed in 2008-2010 at an average of 36 years. Data on child maltreatment and related risk and protective factors were collected much earlier, beginning when participants were preschoolers (18 months to 6 years old). 21 references