Does child abuse and neglect increase risk for perpetration of violence inside and outside the home?
Year: 2014
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent to which abused and neglected children perpetrate three different types of violence within and outside the home: criminal, child abuse, and intimate partner violence and determine whether childhood maltreatment leads to an increased risk for poly-violence perpetration. METHOD: Using data from a prospective cohort design study, children (ages 0-11) with documented histories of physical and sexual abuse and/or neglect (n = 676) were matched with children without such histories (n = 520) and assessed in young adulthood (average age 29). Official criminal records in conjunction with self-report data were used to assess violent outcomes. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, individuals with histories of child abuse and/or neglect were significantly more likely to be poly-violence perpetrators, perpetrating violence in all three domains (relative risk = 1.26). All forms of childhood maltreatment (physical and sexual abuse and neglect) significantly predicted poly-violence perpetration. CONCLUSIONS: These findings expand the cycle of violence literature by combining the distinct literatures on criminal violence, child abuse, and partner violence to call attention to the phenomenon of poly-violence perpetration by maltreated children. Future research should examine the characteristics of maltreated children who become poly-violence perpetrators and mechanisms that lead to these outcomes.
Source: Psychology of Violence
DOI: 10.1037/a0037956
Authors: Izabela Milaniak, Cathy Spatz Widom
Language: English
Topic: Child Abuse and Trauma
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G1179383323, G1352929292, G1445334640, Child Abuse and Neglect, Chronic Stress, and Drug Abuse, G1689474558, G1762377256, G1879136318, G2369749656, G3407084701, G3492652558, CHILDHOOD VICTIMIZATION AND LIFETIME REVICTIMIZATION, LONG TERM MENTAL OUTCOMES OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT, G4320534144, CHILD ABUSE, RISK, AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS--DRUG ABUSE, G5599699835, CHILDHOOD VICTIMIZATION AND RISK FOR ALCOHOL PROBLEMS, CHILD ABUSE AND ALCOHOL ABUSE, Intergenerational Transmission of Neglect and Abuse, G933218392, G983596246
OpenAlex ID: W2116046492