CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AS CAUSES OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR ISSUE NO 19 - CANADA

• NCJ Number: 49652
• Author(s): ANON
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 41 pages
• Corporate Author: Printing and Publishing Supply and Services Canada
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; Printing and Publishing Supply and Services Canada
• Language: French; English
• Country: Canada
• Note: PROCEEDINGS OF THE SENATE OF CANADA, JULY 4, 1978

Annotation

A MEDICAL DOCTOR AND EXPERT IN CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT TESTIFIES ON HISTORICAL VIEWS OF CHILD ABUSE, CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT RESEARCH, AND FACTORS WHICH INDICATE THAT A CHILD IS ABUSED OR THAT PARENTS ARE POTENTIAL ABUSERS.

Abstract

THERE WAS LITTLE MENTION OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT AND THE EFFECTS OF THIS KIND OF TREATMENT IN A CHILD'S LATER BEHAVIOR UNTIL THE WRITINGS OF HOGARTH, DICKENS, AND JACOB RIIS IN THE 1700 AND 1800'S. IN 1966 AND 1967, THE FIRST U.S. STUDIES WHICH CONSIDERED THE EARLY CHILDHOOD OF PERSONS WHO HAD BEEN LATER CONVICTED OF VIOLENT CRIME WERE CONDUCTED. A 1967 STUDY FOUND THAT FIVE FACTORS APPARENT IN THE PERSONAL HISTORIES OF A SAMPLE OF MURDERERS, INCLUDE SEVERE EMOTIONAL DEPRIVATION IN CHILDHOOD, PARENTAL SEDUCTION, EXPOSURE TO BRUTALITY AND EXTREME VIOLENCE IN THE HOME, AND EARLY INCLINATIONS TO FIRESETTING AND CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. IT IS MAINTAINED THAT SOME CHILDREN REACT DIFFERENTLY TO CHILD ABUSE BECAUSE CHILDREN HAVE DIFFERENT TEMPERAMENTS AND COPING SKILLS, AND THEY HAVE DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS AND CONTACTS OUTSIDE THE HOME. THE BASIC DYNAMIC IN PHYSICAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN IS ROLE REVERSAL, WHICH IS THE INTERCHANGING OF TRADITIONAL ROLE BEHAVIORS BETWEEN THE PARENT AND THE CHILD. PARENTS IN THESE ROLE REVERSAL CASES USUALLY WANT THEIR CHILDREN BUT PLACE UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS ON THE CHILD; THEY OFTEN HAVE HAD ABUSING PARENTS. UNWANTED CHILDREN ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO NEGLECT. JUVENILE DELINQUENTS HAVE CHARACTERISTICS SIMILAR TO ABUSED AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN. THEY USUALLY LACK COMMON SENSE OR A DEVELOPED SENSE OF HUMOR, AND GENERALLY ARE NOT ABLE TO APPRECIATE MORAL BOUNDARIES OR RULES LEARNED FROM PARENT MODELS. RESEARCH IS CITED WHICH INDICATES THAT VIOLENT ADULT BEHAVIOR IS PREDICTABLY LINKED TO CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT AND THAT CHILD ABUSE RISK IS APPARENT AND CAN BE CONTROLLED THROUGH USE OF VISITS BY A HEALTH NURSE OR SOCIAL WORKERS OR OTHER CRISIS INTERVENTION PROGRAMS. EFFECTS OF TELEVISION, CHILDHOOD PETS, AND ADOPTION SITUATIONS ON LATER BEHAVIOR ARE ALSO CONSIDERED. (DAG)