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Anna Stewart, Susan Dennison and Elissa Waterson
ISBN 0 642 24282 8 ;
ISSN 0817-8542
October 2002
http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi241.html
This important study demonstrates a direct path from child maltreatment to juvenile offending. The maltreatment of children is a scourge on our society - a thoroughly inexcusable practice that, unfortunately, our protective and preventive measures have had little overall success in combating.
This study focuses on the 41,700 children born in Queensland in 1983. It finds that about 10 per cent of these children came into contact with the Department of Families by the time they were 17 years old because of a child protection matter. About five per cent of those in the cohort had a court appearance for a proven offence. Many, but not all, of these children fitted into both categories (that is, coming into contact with the Department as well as having a court appearance).
The authors examine 11 predictive factors for youth offending, and find that children who suffer maltreatment are more likely to offend. Physical abuse and neglect are significant predictive factors, but sexual and emotional abuse are not.
This study shows that working with large administrative data sets can yield critically important information for policy-making, and can also inform practice. The policy ramifications of these data show that with appropriate analysis we can move to better levels of understanding risk and improved deployment of scarce resources.
>From ???@??? Tue Jan 07 15:39:07 2003-----Original Message-----
From: owner-CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@xxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@xxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Stephanie Dallam
Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 6:14 PM
To: Child Maltreatment Researchers
Subject: Study - Abused children more liable to be teenage offenderhttp://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/01/06/1041566361234.html
Abused child liable to be teenage offender: study
By Farah Farouque
January 7, 2003
Abused and neglected children are more likely to break
the law than their peers by the time they reach age 17,
a study confirms.
Cases of physical abuse or neglect were "significant",
as these children were most likely to offend later, according
to the study published by the Australian Institute of Criminology.
Sexual and emotional abuse were not compelling factors
in children coming up against juvenile courts later, but might
"lead to other negative life outcomes such as suicide, early
pregnancy, depression and anxiety", noted lead researcher
Anna Stewart, of Griffith University.
Researchers examined the records of 41,700 children born
in Queensland in 1983 and determined that by 17, a 10th
had been brought to the notice of the welfare authority over
child protection concerns.
In the maltreated group, 25 per cent of boys and 11 per
cent of girls went on to have a brush with the law. Five per
cent appeared in juvenile courts on proven charges.
Children taken from their homes by welfare authorities
were more likely to brush against the juvenile justice system
than were abused or neglected children who stayed with the family.
The presence of "significant adults" who were not abusive,
such as extended family members, and success at school
were factors that safeguarded maltreated children, Dr Stewart said.
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