Breaking Down the Walls of Delinquency

There has been an enormous amount of research, going back almost thirty years, about the relationship between childhood trauma, and juvenile delinquency. Many researches cannot say that there is a direct link between the two, but after much research, researches have found that childhood trauma can perhaps be a predictor for juveniles who later in life commit crimes. Trauma is defined as, “a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury,” because the definition is broad and can range from a variety of different events, for the purpose of this paper, the focus will be on neglect trauma in juveniles (Trauma, 2016). Neglect according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is, “the failure of a parent or other person with the responsibility for the child to provide needed food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision such that the child’s health, safety and well-being are threatened with harm” (Kazemian, 2011).

There have been numerous studies throughout the decades regarding childhood victimization and how it relates to adult criminality. This report will summarize a few of these studies and compare their results in order to attempt to find a correlation between childhood abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse and adult criminals.

Abuse and delinquency have been linked together for many years. There have been many studies done to determine whether victims of abuse have higher rates of delinquency, as compared to those who have not encountered abuse. It has been found that adolescents who were victims of sexual assault were three to five times more likely to experience posttraumatic stress disorder, be abused again, be dependent on drugs and alcohol, or commit delinquent acts compared with adolescents who were not victimized (Impact of Child Abuse, 2011). In another study that was conducted to examine the relationship between abuse and delinquency, the data that was found, supported the data that was found in the study above; the authors of the study found that abuse nearly doubles the probability that an individual will engage in crime. This information was found to even be true with twins, one of whom was abused and other one was not (Currie & Tekin, 2006).

Child abuse previously categorized as a minor incident, which is currently more visible to the eyes of people as increasing and important to address in society. According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect System as of 2012, “the number of child victims was around 3.8 million children, 1/5 of the population of child victims were found to be victims of substantiated (17.7%), indicated (0.9%), and alternative response (0.5%). Which resulted in the rest 4/5 of the child victims were not actual victims of child abuse.” (Child Mal, 2012) That sums up to about

My last point as to why children turn to delinquency is due to a lack of communication with their parents. According to Clark and Shields at https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-19417319/family-communication-and-delinquency (1997) they state that “the importance of positive communication for optimal family functioning has major implications for delinquent behavior. They also discovered that communication is indeed related to the commission of delinquent behavior and differences are shown within categories of age, sex, and family marital status.” This has been caused due to the new family model known as the nuclear family. What this is, is a family with parents who are both working, and the extended family is spread throughout the country making it very difficult for children to receive any too little form of supervision, as well as communication from their family. This also goes back to the sheep and the sheep dog theory that without guidance and rules a child is doomed to have a lack of actions versus consequence ideals.

Heather Mitchell and Michael G. Aamodt, researches at Radford University, have studied the element of childhood abuse and the link to murder. They have come up with the claim that over 40% of all serial killers have a past with abuse. Childhood abuse or neglect increases the risk of being arrested for violent crime, whether in the juvenile or adult years. Studies show that abuse and neglect increase the likelihood of arrest as a juvenile by 59 percent, as an adult by 28 percent, and for a violent crime by 30 percent. Moreover, neglected children are arrested more frequently than children not abused or neglected, usually younger at first arrest, commit nearly twice as many offenses. This early onset of criminal behavior is associated with increased variety, seriousness, and duration of

Child abuse affects children now. For example Cdc.gov states that studies have discovered abused and neglected children to be at least 25% more likely to experience problems such as teen pregnancy, and low academic achievement. (2014) Cdc.gov adds that being abused or neglected increases their risk of quitting high school. (2014) As well as a National Institute of Justice study indicated

Child abuse and neglect is a national problem which has increased to epidemic proportions in the United States. More than 2.5 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States annually with over hundreds of deaths related to child abuse that has been reported each year. In 2013, an estimation of 1,520 children died from abuse in the United States. In that same year, Children’s Advocacy Centers around the country had served nearly 295,000 child victims of abuse, providing victim with support to these children and their families. Moving to 2014 this number was maxed to over 315,000. An estimation of 679,000 children were victims of abuse. There were 47 out of the 50 states that reported approximately 3.1 million children who received preventative services from Child Protective Services agencies in the United States. In the first year of a child 's life it was the highest rate of victimization of 23.1 per 1,000 children in the national population of the same age. Of the children who experienced abuse, nearly 80% sufficer neglect; 18% suffered physical abuse; and 9% suffered sexual abuse.

Literature and studies have shown that there is a link between child abuse and criminal behavior.

While the theoretical reasoning that supports the idea that child abuse often leads to crime gives a basis for the concept, much of the evidence that links the two lies in the concrete details. The visible effects of child abuse and neglect that assist with the basis that has been given by the psychological theories lies in observable behavioral and emotional effects of those who are known to have been subject to maltreatment as children. Some children who have a history with abuse do not experience any repercussions while others experience extreme consequences; this is largely because of the certain child’s ability to handle and grow from negative experiences (Child Welfare Information Gateway 3). Children who experience consequences

Child abuse and neglect have immediate and long-term consequences. In addition to negatively impacting the child, child abuse and neglect impacts the family, the school community, and even future generations. The ability to survive and be successful in the face of child abuse and neglect depends on a variety of factors, including the extent and type of abuse or neglect, whether it was continual or infrequent, the age of the child when abuse was initiated, the child’s relationship to the abuser, and how the abuse or neglect was responded to. Outcomes are also dependent on the child’s personality traits, inner strength, and the support the child receives from those around them. It is important to acknowledge that some children will not develop behavioral problems, so it cannot be assumed that a

Child abuse and neglect are considered a social phenomenon that plays a crucial role in American society as well as in the American criminal justice system. All types of ages, genders, ethnicities at some point or another are represented as victims or perpetrators of child abuse or neglect. Child abuse includes physical, psychological and sometimes sexual abuse to a person who is below the age of 18. Child abuse or neglect victims tend to grow up with long terms consequences such as low self-esteem, depression, and other major consequences such as engaging in criminal behavior as adults, teen pregnancy and not to mention the severity of physical child abuse consequences can end up in a death of an innocent victim. This literature

Characteristically, juvenile delinquency follows a similar path just like normal adolescent development and children tend to follow delinquent and criminal behavior rather than engaging in it randomly. Research has shown that there are two types of delinquents, those in whom the onset of severe antisocial behavior begins in early childhood, and those in whom this onset coincides with entry into adolescence. With either type, these developmental paths give families, communities, and systems the opportunity to intervene and prevent the onset of antisocial behaviors and justice system involvement (APA, 2017).

“Being abuses or neglected as a child increased the likelihood of arrest as a juvenile by 53 percent, as adult by 38 percent, and for a violent criminal by 48 percent” (Widom, 1992).

Juvenile offending is a major problem in society. Understanding the risk factors that contribute to the increased likelihood of a juvenile to engage in delinquency is important. There are many factors that can influence the increased risk of juvenile delinquency. These factors include poverty, low socioeconomic status, age (Jarjoura, Triplett, & Brinker, 2002), race, gender (Lucero, Barret, & Jensen, 2015), education (Lucero, Barret, & Jensen, 2015; Jarjoura, 1993), and family structure (Anderson, 2002; Kierkus & Hewitt, 2009). It is important to examine if some risk factors can contribute more than others and to what extent they interact with one another. This paper will discuss three important risk factors that contribute to the likelihood of juveniles engaging in deviant acts. The three risk factors discussed are poverty, family structure, and educational attainment. In addition, this paper will demonstrate how these three risk factors interact with one another, resulting in a higher propensity for involvement in juvenile delinquency.