Child Abuse And Juvenile Delinquency

Incidents like abuse from family members, bullying, neglect, and sexual abuse are the most common. Repeated abuse can lead to psychological damage and emotional scarring. Not only are traumatic psychological experiences causing these juveniles to commit violent crimes. Situations, where children have poor education, a household without discipline, peer pressure, inadequate role models, low income, and substance abuse coupled with the wrong environment, can lead to a life of crime. These negative influences guide these juveniles on the wrong path towards crime. However, it does not mean these juveniles cannot succeed; it is however up to the juvenile to make the correct choices in their

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).

A common assumption amongst those in the field of criminal justice is that most adult criminals were victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and/or neglect in their childhood. A study by Steele in 1975 found that, of 200 detained juvenile offenders, between 72% and 84% had backgrounds of child abuse (Weeks & Widom, 1998). A 1979 study by Lewis, Schanok, Pincus, and Glaser found that of a sample of male juvenile offenders, 75% had experienced childhood physical abuse. In follow-up interviews with the same subjects previously surveyed, 80% reported childhood physical abuse (Weeks & Widom, 1998). A study done by the Department of Correctional Services Research and Reporting Unit in 1983 had inmates answer a questionnaire; 25.2% of the inmates who answered the questionnaire reported childhood victimization (1998).

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).

The 16 Year Old Killer: Cyntoia's Story is a film about Cyntoia Brown’s experience with the American justice system in 2004. At age 16, Brown shot and killed 43 year old Johnny Allen after he picked her up as a prostitute and took her to his home. Despite being a juvenile, Brown was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison. There was some controversy surrounding this case, considering that Brown had a tough childhood and some biological factors working against her. Some argue that she would have fared better in the juvenile justice system and that it was unfair to give a teenager a life sentence.

The authors utilized children who are in the juvenile justice system and the vast majority of the children were faced with abuse and neglect. This shows that aiding the the ending and treatment of child abuse would help to decrease the number of children in the juvenile justice system. It is obvious that most juvenile offenders go on to become a member of the criminal justice system, so early treatments could help prevent that from happening. These children could learn ways to deal with the trauma they faced besides going down the criminal path. If the children do have a developmental disability, early treatment could help them from falling behind in school which could also result in them not dropping out and ending up on the streets. If a child has PTSD or another emotional disorder, early help could prevent the child from using illegal drugs and ending up in the wrong circle. Increasing a child normalcy is key when discussing the best interest of the

Independent raters assessed these interviews and analyzed the probability that the child had been severely harmed. They determined that 69 children in total were classified as having experienced early physical abuse. Throughout the years, the researchers investigated the links between early physical abuse and violent delinquency and other socially relevant outcomes during early adulthood and the extent to which the child’s race and gender influenced these links. The researchers measured violent delinquency via self-reports and official court records. They also took into account official court records of nonviolent and status offenses, self-reported arrests, and romantic relationship violence when measuring non-violent delinquency and aggression. After years of analysis, the researchers concluded that individuals who had experienced physical abuse in the first 5 years of their life were more prone to and were at a greater risk of being arrested for violent, nonviolent, or status offenses. Victims of child abuse were also more likely to be found to be the perpetrator of romantic relationship violence and to have

The statistical evidence of young female juveniles describes by journalist Linda Lowen. Lowen says young girls who were subjected to many different mental health issues and some form of abuse have often led to delinquent conduct. Abuse, such as, physical, mental, sexual, and emotional abuse is the most commonplace behind a juvenile’s girl’s negative behavior. In the United States, seventy-three percent of young girls have been abused. Just over forty percent of young girls have been victims of sexual assault or rape. Girls who have been abused or neglected are twice as likely to be arrested as other girls (Lowen, 2014).

This reading evaluate the trends for violence, crime, and abuse in the lives of children. This study provides updated estimates for exposure to a wide variety of offenses, including violence, crime, and abuse. This exposure is wide spread in the short term and over the developmental life course. Children and youth are exposed to violence, abuse, and crime in varied and extensive ways, which justifies continued monitoring and prevention

According to the United States department of Justice, Over sixty percent of American children are exposed to a type of violence every year (Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Ormrod, R., Hamby, S., and Kracke, K. 2009). These forms of violence can be perpetrated by a victims home, community or school, with majority of children knowing the perpetrator(s). These experiences with violence whether primary or secondary, can cause serious psychological trauma to a child and in worst case scenarios death. The 2009 survey by the Department of Justice also found that children exposed to any form of violence were more likely to engage in violence in the future and almost forty percent of these children were exposed to multiple acts of violence ( pg.2). The

Strain theory describes the idea that there are certain events and conditions in an individual’s life that are disliked and involve the inability to achieve goals, loss of positively valued stimuli, and presentation of negative stimuli (Brezina and Agnew). Child neglect and abuse can be described by this theory, and often is, because of its elements and the effect it has on children. Before the idea of child abuse and neglect causing juvenile delinquency can be argued, juvenile delinquency must be defined. Brezina and Agnew define juvenile delinquency as law violations committed by minors. One of the largest debated consequences of child abuse and neglect is it causes juvenile delinquency in victims. Juvenile offenders are view by the justice system as “‘immature’ in the sense that they are less capable of appreciating the consequences of their actions, less able to exercise self-control and more easily lead astray by others.” Supports of this claim say abuse causes delinquency because weak bonds, low self-control, and confrontation with negative stimuli.

Child abuse in the United States is a growing epidemic. Every year the number of reported cases, and missing children go up. This is caused mostly by lack of education about the different types of child abuse, and the signs that go along with it. Communities need to provide more resources to better educate the public about the types of abuse, and the signs that go along with it. Child abuse and neglect can be lessened by more resources, more education and to reach out to others.

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 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

Many children become familiar with the Juvenile Justice System without knowledge of why they continue to commit crimes. Many of them suffered years of being abuses, which caused socialization changes that pushed them to withdraw or act out. This research is important because it shows the long terms effects child abuse has on children that become juvenile delinquents. Statistics show increasing numbers of children who are the victims of child abuse and neglect, although they decrease in delinquency may reflect a greater nation focus on the issue and the use of more effective programs to attack the problem. This research is important to me because the Criminal Justice System doesn’t address the causes of deviant behavior in juvenile delinquents to its full potential. They rather just focus on policing and tough sanctions. Hopefully with this paper and many others child abuse can be prevented along with the long-term effects of child abuse and better programs can be invented to treat child abuse victims. The Office of Justice Programs came up with a “Safe Kids Safe Streets” Program, which acknowledge the correlation between child abuse and juvenile delinquency and is aimed at breaking the cycle of early childhood victimization and later delinquency (Safe