The Relationship Between Child Sex Abuse and Criminality

A recently published article looks at the relationship between child maltreatment and violent delinquency. In “Disentangling the Relationship Between Child Maltreatment and Violent Delinquency: Using a Nationally Representative Sample,” researchers Ilhong Yun, Jeremy D. Ball, and Hyeyoung Lim used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescents to examine the relationship between child maltreatment and violent delinquency.

The cases of 3,472 adolescents were analyzed for any relationship among child maltreatment and violent delinquency and for potential moderating effects of gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and religiosity.

The authors conclude that physical abuse was not associated with future violent delinquency, whereas sexual abuse and neglect predicted violent delinquency significantly. Gender, SES, and religiosity had no moderating effects on these relationships.

The article was published in the January 2011 issue of the Journal of Interpersonal Violence. An abstract and ordering information for the article can be found here.

1 Reply to "The Relationship Between Child Sex Abuse and Criminality"

  • lastmate
    March 22, 2011 (3:20 pm)

    I’m sure there’s also a definite link between human traficking & sexual slavery, and child/adolescent sex abuse. Many of these girls (& 20% boys) are runaways who fall vulnerable to pimps and trafickers who approach them with a kindly facade–offering food, a place to stay, a dream job, or to take them to a fun party.
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