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Child Maltreatment and Recidivism: Do Maltreatment Patterns Influence General and Violent Reoffending?

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This study examined whether patterns of maltreatment predicted reoffending among 5,194 justice-involved youth (JIY) from a large Texas juvenile probation department. Using latent class analysis on five maltreatment types (physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and exposure to domestic violence), we empirically identified three classes: “Poly-victimization” (17.8%; high across all types), “Psychological Maltreatment” (15.3%; high emotional abuse and neglect), and “Low Maltreatment” (66.9%; low/moderate across types). JIY in the “Poly-victimization” and “Psychological Maltreatment” classes were more likely to engage in general and violent reoffending within 1 year controlling for covariates. These findings highlight the varying importance of different maltreatment patterns and underscore the need to prioritize interventions for JIY with complex maltreatment histories in order to reduce future offending.

Source: Crime & Delinquency

DOI: 10.1177/00111287251398033

Authors: Nan Li, Matt Shelton, Elena L. Grigorenko

Institutions: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Baylor College of Medicine, University of Houston

Language: English

Topic: Child Abuse and Trauma

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,650