An Exploration of Differences in Childhood Maltreatment between Violent and Non-Violent Male Delinquents

Abstract

Using prospective data collected from a sample (N = 161) of male, incarcerated youth, we compared the maltreatment histories of violent (n = 59) and nonviolent (n = 78) offenders. We measured the frequency of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect for both groups. Data were analyzed using logistic regression. We found that violent offenders reported significantly greater frequency of physical neglect and sexual abuse and a higher total score on the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire than nonviolent offenders. This contradicts past literature (Capaldi & Patterson, 1996; Farrington, 1991; Haapasalo & Hamalainen, 1996) suggesting that there may be more differences in the amount and type of maltreatment experienced by violent and nonviolent offenders than previously thought.

Keywords:

• physical neglect
• sexual abuse
• childhood maltreatment
• violence
• juvenile offender