Retrospective reports of childhood abuse and neglect among violent and property offenders

Abstract

Childhood abuse and neglect may increase the risk for later antisocial and criminal behavior, especially violent behavior. The objective of this study was retrospectively to compare childhood abuse and neglect experiences in the groups of Violent and Property offenders. The sample consisted of 34 recidivist inmates with the mean age of 26.9 years. The findings showed that physical, psychological, and sexual abuse and neglect was experienced by 82%, 97%, 3% and 94% of the offenders, respectively. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of abuse or neglect between the Violent and Property offenders. Neither were the groups differentiated by any combination of the abuse and neglectċvariables. Some differences emerged in the types of physical abuse between the offender groups. The Violent offenders tended to have been subjected to more severe, frequent and versatile abuse and neglect than the Property offenders, although not significantly so. The Homicidal offenders had, however, experienced significantly more severe, frequent, and versatile physical abuse than the Property offenders. The limitations of the study lie in the small sample size and the retrospective nature of the data collection.

Key Words:

• child abuse
• child neglect
• criminal behavior
• retrospective report.