RE: Study - Abused children more liable to be teenage offender

I think the most interesting thing that may be observable in this study would be children taken into care and offending. UK, Australian, and US research show that this is in fact the highest predictive factor (apart from being born) for future criminality, something that is studiously ignored!

Did the researchers actually compile and study the evidence behind this study, or did they once again have to depend upon the government department at the heart of this research, "arranging" the evidence for them (a problem incidentally that never pops up in discussion of the methodology- though surely has the largest 'margin' for error!!).

cheers

John Murray

From: PCAWSON@NSPCC.org.uk

Reply-To: CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu

To: Child Maltreatment Researchers

Subject: RE: Study - Abused children more liable to be teenage offender

Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2003 12:05:13 -0000

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Unless there are very high rates of adoption in Queensland I wouldn't expect

adoptions to make much difference in a sample of this size, but what might

be much more important is socio-economic background, which in many studies

in Europe and N. America is independently associated with physical

discipline, physical abuse and neglect and with involvement in the juvenile

justice system (not quite the same thing as offending!) but in the UK at

least SEG shows less of a link with sexual and emotional abuse. The

difficulty is to understand the ways in which SEG, maltreatment and

offending interact, which is most unlikely to be a simple cause/effect

relationship.

Dr Pat Cawson

Head of Child Protection Research

NSPCC

Weston House

42 Curtain Rd

London EC2A 3 NH

Tel. 020 7825 2648

-----Original Message-----

From: John M Price PhD [mailto:jmprice@calweb.com]

Sent: 07 January 2003 20:02

To: Child Maltreatment Researchers

Subject: RE: Study - Abused children more liable to be teenage offender

I've only just downloaded it, so haven't read the thing. Did they do any

analyses on adoptions, thereby controlling for inherited tendancies, or is

this simply a regression study with perhaps a path analysis added on?

On Tue, 7 Jan 2003, Stephanie Dallam wrote:

> This study can be downloaded from the Australian Institute of

> Criminology website (the link is pasted below)

> No. 241: Pathways from child maltreatment to juvenile offending

> 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

> * Download paper

> (222kB)

> Abstract

> 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.

> -----Original Message-----

> From: owner-CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu

> [mailto:owner-CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu] 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 offender

> http://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.

John M. Price, PhD jmprice@calweb.com

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