Report

Does Child Abuse Cause Crime?

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Currie, Janet
Tekin, Erdal

Abstract / Description

Child maltreatment, which includes both child abuse and child neglect, is a major social problem. This paper focuses on measuring the effects of child maltreatment on crime using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). We focus on crime because it is one of the most socially costly potential outcomes of maltreatment, and because the proposed mechanisms linking maltreatment and crime are relatively well elucidated in the literature. Our work addresses many limitations of the existing literature on child maltreatment. First, we use a large national sample, and investigate different types of abuse in a similar framework. Second, we pay careful attention to identifying the causal impact of abuse, by using a variety of statistical methods that make differing assumptions. These methods include: Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), propensity score matching estimators, and twin fixed effects. Finally, we examine the extent to which the effects of maltreatment vary with socio-economic status (SES), gender, and the severity of the maltreatment. We find that maltreatment approximately doubles the probability of engaging in many types of crime. Low SES children are both more likely to be mistreated and suffer more damaging effects. Boys are at greater risk than girls, at least in terms of increased propensity to commit crime. Sexual abuse appears to have the largest negative effects, perhaps justifying the emphasis on this type of abuse in the literature. Finally, the probability of engaging in crime increases with the experience of multiple forms of maltreatment as well as the experience of Child Protective Services (CPS) investigation.

Keyword(s)

Kindesmisshandlung Kriminalität Kindesmisshandlung Kriminalität maltreatment child abuse crime

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2006

Is part of series

Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit/ Institute for the Study of Labor: IZA Discussion Paper Series;2063

Citation

  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Currie, Janet
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Tekin, Erdal
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2022-11-17T11:03:03Z
  • Made available on
    2008-06-05
  • Made available on
    2015-12-01T10:32:11Z
  • Made available on
    2022-11-17T11:03:03Z
  • Date of first publication
    2006
  • Abstract / Description
    Child maltreatment, which includes both child abuse and child neglect, is a major social problem. This paper focuses on measuring the effects of child maltreatment on crime using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). We focus on crime because it is one of the most socially costly potential outcomes of maltreatment, and because the proposed mechanisms linking maltreatment and crime are relatively well elucidated in the literature. Our work addresses many limitations of the existing literature on child maltreatment. First, we use a large national sample, and investigate different types of abuse in a similar framework. Second, we pay careful attention to identifying the causal impact of abuse, by using a variety of statistical methods that make differing assumptions. These methods include: Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), propensity score matching estimators, and twin fixed effects. Finally, we examine the extent to which the effects of maltreatment vary with socio-economic status (SES), gender, and the severity of the maltreatment. We find that maltreatment approximately doubles the probability of engaging in many types of crime. Low SES children are both more likely to be mistreated and suffer more damaging effects. Boys are at greater risk than girls, at least in terms of increased propensity to commit crime. Sexual abuse appears to have the largest negative effects, perhaps justifying the emphasis on this type of abuse in the literature. Finally, the probability of engaging in crime increases with the experience of multiple forms of maltreatment as well as the experience of Child Protective Services (CPS) investigation.
    en
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bsz:291-psydok-16553
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11780/1103
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.8975
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Is part of
    IZA Discussion Paper Series No. 2063
  • Is part of series
    Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit/ Institute for the Study of Labor: IZA Discussion Paper Series;2063
  • Keyword(s)
    Kindesmisshandlung
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Kriminalität
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Kindesmisshandlung
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Kriminalität
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    maltreatment
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    child abuse
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    crime
    en
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    Does Child Abuse Cause Crime?
    en
  • DRO type
    report
  • Visible tag(s)
    PsyDok