Early Physical Abuse and Later Violent Delinquency: A Prospective Longitudinal Study

• NCJ Number: 219700
• Journal: Child Maltreatment Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2007 Pages: 233-245
• Author(s): Jennifer E. Lansford; Shari Miller-Johnson; Lisa J. Berlin; Kenneth A. Dodge; John E. Bates; Gregory S. Pettit
• Date Published: 2007
• Length: 13 pages
• Grant Number(s): MH42498; MH56961; MH57024; MH57095; HD30572
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This prospective longitudinal study of 574 children followed from age 5 to age 21 examined the links between early physical abuse and violent delinquency and other socially relevant outcomes during late adolescence/early adulthood, as well as the extent to which the child's race and gender moderated these links.

Abstract

The findings showed that physical abuse predicted subsequent violent delinquency as measured by arrest data. These effects persisted during a 17-year period and extended through late adolescence. Physically abused children were also more likely than nonabused children to exhibit a host of other problematic outcomes, including being less likely to graduate from high school, and being more likely to be fired from their jobs. They were also more likely to become a teen parent. These effects were more pronounced for African-American than for European-American youth and somewhat more prevalent for females than for males. More work is needed in order to understand the mechanisms that underlie the links between early physical abuse and subsequent negative outcomes. Such research is critical to improving preventive interventions that reduce the incidence of abuse and enhance treatment programs for children. The families in this study were participants in the ongoing, multisite, longitudinal study called the Child Development Project. Participants were recruited when they entered kindergarten in 1987 or 1988 at three sites: Knoxville and Nashville, TN, and Bloomington, IN. Study procedures and measures pertained to early physical abuse; violent delinquency, nonviolent delinquency, and aggression; other social and psychological problems; and covariates. The latter controlled for factors related to sociodemographics, family functioning, and child behaviors shown to be related both to the likelihood that a child would be maltreated and to long-term adjustment. 3 tables and 69 references