NCJ Number
74799
Date Published
1977
Length
34 pages
Annotation
The backgrounds of 4,465 abused or neglected children of siblings of maltreated children who had contact with social service agencies in 8 New York counties during the early 1950's were reviewed and correlated with subsequent official contacts for juvenile misconduct.
Abstract
Four background variables were investigated: sex, religion, socioeconomic status, and family composition (household size, birth in or out of wedlock, and parental presence in the home). The number and type of official contacts which the children had with the social service system were also investigated. No difference in abuse or neglect patterns were found between boys and girls; however, boys were more likely to have subsequent contact with the system for juvenile misconduct. Lower socioeconomic status was related to a higher incidence of child abuse or neglect. Nonwhite children were more likely to be abused or neglected and to have contact with the social service system regarding susbequent juvenile misconduct. However, nonwhite children were overrepresented in the sample. Children from large families were more likely to be abused and to have juvenile delinquency contacts later. Children born out of weldock were more likely to be mistreated, but no relationship was found between their mistreatment and a likelihood for later juvenile misconduct (although involvement in status offenses was more likely). Approximately 60 percent of the children had more than one social service agency contact and remained in the system for about 6 years. Overall, about 20 percent of the children had both maltreatment and misconduct contacts. Tabular data, footnotes, and eight references are included. For the final report, see NCJ 74798.