I found this interesting, though I haven't read it all yet. For those of you who hate reading required material like I do, or practically anything that you just don't want to read and someone says, Read This; allow me to paraphrase this for you. Although most of it can generally be surmised by the title.
Child victims who are molested or abused may have a tendency to commit violent crimes, studies are used here to show this. Suggestions for direction and action are given. That's it more or less.
Here it is:
Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse -- Later Criminal Consequences.
MENU TITLE: Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse
Series: NIJ Research in Brief
Published: March 1995
16 pages
33,030 bytes
NCJ 151525
Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse--Later
Criminal Consequences
by Cathy Spatz Widom
******************************
Issues and Findings
Discussed in the Brief: Previous research established evidence for a cycle of violence:
people who were abused and neglected in childhood
are more likely than those who were not to become
involved in criminal behavior, including violent
crime, later in life. This Research in Brief, the
second in a series on the cycle of violence,
examines the criminal consequences in adulthood of a particular type of childhood victimization:
sexual abuse. It traces the same individuals
studied initially, using official records of arrest and juvenile detention.
Key Issues
o Whether sexual abuse--more than other forms of childhood victimization--makes people more likely
to become involved in delinquent and criminal
behavior later in life.
o Whether sexual abuse during childhood makes it
more likely that these victims will be charged with a sex crime as an adult.
o Whether there is a pathway from being sexually
abused as a child, to running away as a juvenile,
to being arrested for prostitution as an adult.
o People who were sexually victimized during
childhood are at higher risk of arrest for
committing crimes as adults, including sex crimes,
than are people who did not suffer sexual or
physical abuse or neglect during childhood.
However, the risk of arrest for childhood sexual
abuse victims as adults is no higher than for
victims of other types of childhood abuse and
neglect.
o The vast majority of childhood sexual abuse
victims are not arrested for sex crimes or any
other crimes as adults.
o Compared to victims of childhood physical abuse
and neglect, victims of childhood sexual abuse are
at greater risk of being arrested for one type of
sex crime: prostitution.
o For the specific sex crimes of rape and sodomy,
victims of physical abuse tended to be at greater
risk for committing those crimes than were sexual
abuse victims and people who had not been
victimized.
o What might seem to be a logical progression from
childhood sexual abuse to running away to
prostitution was not borne out. The adults arrested
for prostitution were not the runaways identified
in this study.
Target audience: Law enforcement officials, child
protection service professionals, researchers,
judges, family counselors, and victim service
organizations and agencies.
*****************************************
---------------------------
Over the past 25 years, much has been written
about the "cycle of violence" or the
"intergenerational transmission of violence."
These terms refer to the possible negative
consequences later in life for children who are
sexually or physically abused or neglected. These
consequences include an increased potential for
violent behavior. In earlier work the researcher
examined criminal records on more than 1,500
individuals to determine whether the experience of
abuse or neglect during childhood increased the
likelihood of arrest as a juvenile or young adult.
The research clearly revealed that a childhood
history of physical abuse predisposes the survivor
to violence in later years, and that victims of
neglect are more likely to engage in later violent
criminal behavior as well.
Of all types of childhood maltreatment, physical
abuse was the most likely to be associated with
arrest for a violent crime later in life. The
group next most likely to be arrested for a
violent offense were those who had experienced
neglect in childhood, a finding of particular
interest. Though a more "passive" form of
maltreatment, neglect has been associated with an
array of developmental problems, and the finding
extended that array to include greater risk of
later criminal violence.1
Focus on sexual abuse
This Research in Brief reports the findings from
an analysis of a specific type of maltreatment--
childhood sexual abuse--and its possible
association with criminal behavior later in life.2
Using the same cases of individuals studied
previously, the researcher sought to find out
whether those who had been sexually abused were
more likely to engage in later delinquent and
criminal behavior than those who had experienced
the other types of abuse. Is there an "inevitable"
or likely progression from being sexually
victimized in childhood to being charged with an
offense in adulthood, particularly sex offenses.
This examination is part of a two-phase study of
the long-term consequences of childhood abuse and
neglect. The findings reported here are from the
first phase, which used the arrest records of
juveniles and adults to measure the criminal
consequences of being maltreated. In the second
phase, now underway, interviews are being
conducted in an attempt to draw a more complete
picture of such consequences. The researcher is
looking at criminal behavior that may not have
been included in official records and at other
negative outcomes, including mental health,
educational, substance abuse, and other problems.
(See "Preview of Work in Progress.")
Evidence from other studies
The link between childhood sexual abuse and
negative consequences for the victims later in
life has been examined in clinical reports and
research studies in the past two decades.
Frequently reported consequences include
acting-out behaviors, such as running away,
truancy, conduct disorder, delinquency,
promiscuity, and inappropriate sexual behavior.
Studies of prostitutes have also revealed an
association between sexual abuse during childhood
and deviant and criminal behavior.
These and other findings have been the basis for
theories linking childhood sexual abuse to the
development of deviant and criminal behavior later
in life. Among researchers as well as clinicians,
acceptance of this link is fairly widespread.
However, as a review of research into the impact
of childhood sexual abuse has indicated, the
empirical evidence may not be sufficient to
justify this acceptance.3 And, a recent review of
the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse--
which cited sexual disturbance, depression,
suicide, revictimization, and postsexual abuse
syndrome--noted criminal consequences only in
passing.4
The need for a new approach
The methods used to conduct these studies make
interpretation difficult. For one thing, most used
retrospective self-reports of adults who had been
sexually abused as children; that is, they relied
on the subjects' own recall. Retrospective
accounts of sexual abuse may be subject to bias or
error. For example, unconscious denial (or
repression of traumatic events in childhood) may
prevent recollection of severe cases of childhood
sexual abuse. It is also possible that people
forget or redefine their behaviors in accordance
with later life circumstances and their current
situation.
Another difficulty with these methods lies with
their reliance on correlation. They involve data
collection at only one point in time. In examining
the relationship between sexual abuse and later
delinquent behavior or adult criminality, it is
important to ensure the correct temporal sequence
of events; that is, to make certain that the
incident of childhood sexual abuse clearly
preceded (not followed) delinquency. Thus,
multiple data collection points are needed. The
few studies that do not rely on retrospection have
investigated consequences only over relatively
short periods of time.
Perhaps the most serious methodological
shortcoming is the frequent lack of appropriate
control or comparison groups. Childhood sexual
abuse often occurs in the context of multiproblem
homes, and sexual victimization of children may be
only one of these problems. Without control
groups, the effects of other family
characteristics, such as poverty, unemployment,
parental alcoholism or drug problems, or other
inadequate social and family functioning, cannot
be easily disentangled from the specific effects
of sexual abuse.
The present study
The study posed three questions designed to shed
light on the possible long-term criminal
consequences of childhood sexual abuse:
o Is there a higher risk of criminal behavior
later in life? Compared to early childhood
experiences of physical abuse and neglect (and
also compared to children who did not experience
maltreatment, at least as documented by official
records), does sexual abuse in early childhood
increase the risk of delinquent and criminal
behavior?
o Is there a higher risk of committing sex crimes?
Are childhood sexual abuse victims more likely to
commit such crimes as prostitution, rape, and
sodomy?
o Is there a link between sexual abuse, running
away, and prostitution? Is there a significant and
direct relationship between early childhood sexual
abuse, being arrested as a runaway as an
adolescent, and, in turn, being arrested for
prostitution as an adult?
How the study was conducted5
The study examined the official criminal histories
of a large number of people whose sexual
victimization during childhood had been validated.
These victims of sexual abuse were compared to
cases of physical abuse and neglect and to a
control group of individuals who were closely
matched in age, race, sex, and approximate family
socioeconomic status.
The groups selected for study. The subjects were
908 individuals who had been subjected as children
to abuse (physical or sexual) or neglect, and
whose cases were processed through the courts
between 1967 and 1971. All were 11 years of age or
younger at the time of the incident(s).
The research used a "matched cohorts" design. Such
studies involve selecting groups of subjects who
are similar (matched) to each other but who differ
in the characteristic being studied. The "cohort"
of children who had been abused or neglected was
matched with the control group, which consisted of
children who had not been abused or neglected.
Both groups were followed into adolescence and
young adulthood to determine if they had engaged
in delinquent behavior or had committed crimes as
adults. At the time they were chosen for the
study, none of them had as yet engaged in
delinquent or criminal behavior. The major aim of
this analysis was to determine whether sexual
abuse during childhood puts victims at greater
risk for criminal behavior later in life than do
the other types of maltreatment.
Sources of information about maltreatment. Because
it was important to use substantiated cases of
physical and sexual abuse and neglect, the study
relied on the official records of agencies that
handled these cases. Detailed information about
the abuse and/or neglect incident and family
composition and characteristics of study subjects
was obtained from the files of the juvenile court
and probation department. The records of the
sexual abuse cases were obtained from the juvenile
court and from the adult criminal court of a
metropolitan area in the Midwest.6
Like all sources of information, official records
have certain limitations. Some incidents are not
reported to law enforcement or social service
agencies. Moreover, the cases studied were
processed before the child abuse reporting laws
were passed, when many cases of sexual abuse were
not brought to the attention of the authorities.
For these reasons, the findings cannot be
interpreted as applying to all incidents. It is
more likely that they represented only the serious
and extreme cases--those brought to the attention
of the social service and criminal justice
systems.
Types of maltreatment. The sexual abuse cases
represented a variety of charges, from relatively
nonspecific ones of "assault and battery with
intent to gratify sexual desires" to more specific
ones of "fondling or touching in an obscene
manner," sodomy, incest, and the like. The
physical abuse cases included those involving
injuries such as bruises, welts, burns, abrasions,
lacerations, wounds, cuts, bone and skull
fractures. The neglect cases reflected the
judgment of the court that the parents'
deficiencies in child care were beyond those found
acceptable by community and professional standards
at the time. They represented extreme failure to
provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, and
medical attention.
Subgroups created for the study. A case was
identified as involving sexual abuse if there was
evidence in the records that the charge had been
substantiated. Of these cases, most involved
sexual abuse only, but some involved physical
abuse and/or neglect in addition. Because exposure
to these different types of abuse may have
different consequences, distinctions were made.
Cases involving only sexual abuse are referrenced
as Sexual Abuse Only. The others are referred to
as Sexual Abuse Plus (sexual abuse plus physical
abuse or neglect).
The sources of information for delinquency and
crime. Finding out whether the subjects had become
delinquent and/or committed crime as adults
required identifying accurate sources of
information about these types of behavior. The
researcher decided to use official arrest records
as the source, for a number of reasons. They are
relatively easy to locate and contain reasonably
complete information. The source of information
about delinquent juveniles was the files of the
juvenile probation department.
Criminal consequences
In general, people who experience any type of
maltreatment during childhood--whether sexual
abuse, physical abuse, or neglect--are more likely
than people who were not maltreated to be arrested
later in life. This is true for juvenile as well
as adult arrests. Twenty-six percent of the people
who were abused and/or neglected were later
arrested as juveniles, compared with only
16.8 percent of the people who
were not. The figures for adults also indicate a
greater likelihood of arrest among people who were
maltreated during childhood.
For certain specific offenses, the likelihood of
arrest is also greater among people who were
abused and/or neglected. For example, 14.3
percent of the people who were abused or neglected
as children were later charged with property
crimes as juveniles, while this was true for only
8.5 percent of the controls. A similar difference
in the rate of property crime arrests was found
among adults. Childhood abuse and neglect were
also associated with later arrest for drug-related
offenses. More than 8 percent of the individuals
abused or neglected as children were arrested for
these offenses as adults, compared to only 5.2
percent of the control group.
Sexual abuse. All types of abuse and neglect in
childhood put people at greater risk for arrest
later in life. But an important finding of this
study is that, in cases of sexual abuse, the risk
is no greater than for other types of
maltreatment. In other words, the victims of
sexual abuse are no more likely than
other victims to become involved with crime.
A breakdown of the types of offenses reveals one
exception. People who were victimized during
childhood by either physical abuse or neglect in
addition to sexual abuse (the Sexual Abuse Plus
group) were more likely than those subjected to
other types of maltreatment (and also more likely
than the controls) to be arrested as runaways
during their juvenile years.
Likelihood of arrest for sex crimes
Could it be that additional breakdowns of types of
offenses would reveal greater risk for individuals
who were sexually abused in childhood? Previous
research indicating that these people are more
likely to be arrested for sex crimes suggests this
might be the case.
Sex crimes in general. Arrest records revealed
that, compared to children who had not been
victimized, those who had been were more likely to
be arrested for sex crimes. Thus, experiencing any
type of abuse/neglect in childhood increases the
risk for sex crimes. Children who were sexually
abused were about as likely as neglect victims to
be arrested for any sex crime and less likely than
victims of physical abuse.
Calculating the odds that abused and neglected
children will subsequently be arrested for sex
crimes as adults confirmed the statistics on
likelihood of arrest. For abused and neglected
children in general, the odds of being arrested as
adults for a sex crime were higher than for
nonvictims. Among sexually abused children, the
odds were 4.7 times higher. Among physically
abused children, the odds of arrest as adults for
a sex crime were only a bit less--more than four
times higher than for the controls. Neglected
children were also at increased risk of subsequent
arrest for a sex crime (2.2 times the rate for the
controls).
Specific sex crimes. The study also looked at
various types of sex crimes, and the breakdown
revealed more complexity. The differences among
the groups in arrest for one particular sex crime,
prostitution, were significant. Arrests for this
crime were rare, but child sex abuse victims were
more likely to be charged with it than were
victims of physical abuse and neglect. The same
is true for the odds. Among children who
were sexually abused, the odds are 27.7 times
higher than for the control group of being
arrested for prostitution as an adult.7 For rape
or sodomy, childhood victims of physical abuse
were found to be at higher risk of arrest than
either other victims or the controls, and the odds
of arrest for these crimes were 7.6 times higher
than for the controls.
From sexual abuse to running away to prostitution-
-Is the path inevitable? It may seem logical to
assume that children who are sexually abused
follow a direct path from being victimized to
becoming a runaway as an adolescent, and then
becoming a prostitute as an adult. The findings of
the current research support the first part of
this relationship; 5.8 percent of abused and
neglected children became runaways, compared with
only 2.4 percent of the controls.
As noted earlier, the researcher found that
sexually abused children were more likely than
other victims to be arrested for prostitution as
adults, and the odds were higher that a sexually
abused child would be charged with prostitution
as an adult. But are juvenile runaways
subsequently charged with prostitution? The
researcher looked at all runaways in the sample
studied, both the victimized groups and the
control group. When some of these runaways became
adults, they were charged with sex crimes. None of
the runaways were arrested for prostitution,
however.
Thus, the findings do not support the notion of a
direct causal link between childhood
victimization, becoming a runaway, and in turn
being arrested for prostitution. Some adults were
found to be arrested for prostitution, but they
were not the runaways in this sample.
Understanding the aftermath of childhood sexual
abuse
All types of childhood abuse and neglect put the
victims at higher risk for criminal behavior.
However, the particular type of victimization
suffered by children who are sexually abused does
not set them apart. It does not put them at an
even higher risk of arrest, for they are no more
likely than children who are physically abused or
neglected to be charged with a crime later in
life.
The same is true for sex crimes. People victimized
by sexual abuse as children are also significantly
more likely than nonvictims to be arrested for a
sex crime, although no more so than victims of
physical abuse and neglect.
This similarity among all three groups of
maltreatment victims suggests that for sexual
abuse victims, the criminal effect later in life
may result not from the specifically sexual nature
of the incident but rather from the trauma and
stress of these early childhood experiences or
society's response to them.
For prostitution, the likelihood is greater. For
prostitution, findings were consistent with those
of previous studies: childhood sexual abuse
victims run a greater risk than other maltreatment
victims of being arrested for prostitution. The
percentage of sexual abuse victims arrested for
this offense was low, however (3.3 percent).
From runaway to prostitute? As noted earlier,
while the findings support the existence of a link
between sexual abuse in childhood and becoming a
runaway as a juvenile, they do not support a
subsequent link to adult prostitution. That is,
being arrested as an adolescent runaway does not
predispose people who were sexually abused as
children to be arrested for prostitution as
adults.
The current research is limited because of its
exclusive reliance on official criminal histories.
Certainly, such records underestimate the number
of runaways, since many of them may be brought to
the attention of social service agencies without
being arrested. For this reason, other types of
data should be examined. However, the fact that
none of the runaways identified in this study were
arrested for prostitution (while other individuals
were) suggests that the connection is at least not
as strong as would have been previously thought.
Other sex crimes. Childhood sexual abuse victims
were not at greater risk later in life of arrest
for rape or sodomy. Rather, the findings reveal an
association between these crimes and childhood
physical abuse, not sexual abuse. Males who were
physically abused in childhood showed a greater
tendency than other abused and neglected children
and the controls to be arrested for these types of
sex crimes. This is consistent with earlier
findings regarding the "cycle of violence," which
indicated that physical abuse in childhood is
associated with the highest rates of arrest for
violence later in life.8 Thus, the violent aspect
of rape rather than its sexual component or sexual
motivation may explain the association. Indeed,
practitioners and clinicians who work with these
victims commonly refer to rape as a crime of
violence, not simply a sex crime.
Patterns of offending
Tentative evidence is offered here to support the
notion that when sexual abuse is differentiated by
type, the subsequent patterns of juvenile and
adult offending are also different. The Sexual
Abuse Plus group tended to be at greater risk for
running away, particularly compared to the other
abuse and neglect groups and the controls. Other
analysis showed this group more often victimized
by family members or relatives in their own homes
than the Sexual Abuse Only group. If one's home is
abusive in multiple ways, it is not surprising
that the victims would resort to running away as
an escape.
These tentative differences suggest that studies
of the long-term consequences of childhood sexual
abuse might find it worthwhile to disaggregate
sexual abuse experiences into groups consisting
exclusively of sexual abuse and groups consisting
of sexual abuse in conjunction with other
childhood victimization. Future research might
examine the question of whether the effect of
multiple forms of abuse is additive.
Criminal behavior is not the inevitable outcome
The link between early childhood sexual abuse and
later delinquent and adult criminal behavior is
not inevitable. Although it is clear that
individuals who were sexually abused in childhood
are at increased risk of arrest as juveniles and
adults, many do not become delinquents or adult
criminals. In fact the majority of the sexually
abused children in this study do not have an
official criminal history as adults. Long-term
consequences of childhood sexual abuse may be
manifest across a number of domains of
psychological distress and dysfunction, but not
necessarily in criminal behavior. Delinquency and
criminality represent only one possible type of
outcome of childhood sexual abuse. A number of
researchers have described depression, anxiety,
self-destructive behavior, and low self-esteem
among adults who were sexually abused in
childhood. Further research with these samples is
underway to document the long-term effects of
childhood victimization in a broad array of
outcomes. (See "Preview of Work in Progress.")
Implications for policy
In planning and implementing treatment and
prevention programs for children who are sexually
abused, practitioners need to keep in mind that
these children are in no sense destined for later
involvement in criminal behavior. Like other
victims of abuse and neglect, the majority will
manifest no such negative outcome, at least as
evidenced by official records of arrest. However,
interventions need to be grounded in the knowledge
that childhood victims of sexual abuse, as well as
other types of abuse and neglect, are at increased
risk for criminal involvement compared to
nonvictims.
The need to avoid projecting criminal outcomes for
sexually abused children has to be balanced by
awareness of the particular risks they face. For
example, interventions for sexually abused
children should be informed by knowing that the
likelihood of becoming a juvenile runaway is not
only greater than among nonvictims, but also
greater than for other types of childhood
maltreatment victims. In developing interventions,
it is also important to consider the higher risk
for later prostitution that sexual abuse victims
face. The health threat posed, not only with
respect to the more conventional sexually
transmitted diseases, but particularly to HIV
infection, makes the need for prevention
interventions directed at childhood sexual abuse
even more urgent.
According to this study, child victims arrested
asrunaways are not arrested for prostitution as
adults.
As the example of prostitution makes clear,
outcomes later in life may differ with the type of
victimization experienced in childhood. This makes
it evident that not all types of childhood
maltreatment are alike and makes it incumbent on
practitioners to craft responses that meet
particular needs. While practitioners need to be
aware that sexually abused children are at greater
risk of becoming juvenile runaways, they also need
to temper that awareness with the knowledge that
these runaways are not necessarily "tracked" into
prostitution as adults.
Information from the interview phase of the study
is likely to bring further nuances to light. If
running away does not necessarily lead to
prostitution, it may nonetheless place the victim
at risk in ways that are not documented in the
arrest record.
The interviews may also shed light on intervening
factors that mediate between the experience of
victimization in childhood and behavioral outcomes
in adulthood. Again, prostitution is an example.
Since prostitutes have diverse backgrounds, it is
unlikely that any single factor (for example,
childhood victimization) explains their entrance
into this type of life. While early sexual abuse
places a child at increased risk, many other
factors play a role, and these factors may emerge
in the interviews. If such factors are identified,
they would necessarily affect the way
practitioners intervene for child victims.
Future directions
Researchers have recently begun to acknowledge
that studies of the impact of childhood abuse
(including sexual abuse) find substantially large
groups of individuals who appear to have
experienced little or no long-term negative
consequences. There are a number of possible
explanations, among them inadequate measurement
techniques on the part of the researchers. It is
also possible that some factors or characteristics
of the abuse incident (less severity, for
example), or some characteristics of the child
(having effective coping skills, for example) or
the child's environment (having a close
relationship with a supportive person, for
example) may have served as a buffer from the
long-term consequences. Protective factors in the
lives of abused and neglected children need to be
uncovered.
Future studies need to examine cases in which
children appear to have overcome, or been
protected from, the negative consequences of their
early childhood experiences with abuse. The
knowledge from such studies would have important
implications for developing prevention and
treatment programs for children who experience
early childhood victimization. These "protective
factors" are being explored as part of the study
now being conducted by the present researcher.
---------------------------
Preview of Work in Progress
If someone commits a crime but is not apprehended,
the crime will not appear in official arrest
records. For this reason, in studying the link
between childhood victimization and negative
consequences in adulthood, including criminal
behavior, it is important to examine evidence from
other sources. In addition, victims of childhood
abuse and neglect may manifest problems other than
criminal behavior later in life, and these too
cannot be traced through arrest records.
The first phase of this study relied exclusively
on official records to document incidents of
delinquency and criminality. Because of the
limitations of this type of record, the second
phase, begun in 1989, used interviews. An attempt
is being made to locate as many as possible of the
1,575 people who were studied during the first
phase, for the in-person interviews. Since the
abuse and/or neglect incidents took place some 20
years ago, most of these people had become young
adults in their early 20's and 30's by the time of
the intreviews.
Information from the interviews is being used to
document a number of long-term consequences of
childhood victimization, including social,
emotional, cognitive and intellectual,
occupational, psychiatric, and general health
outcomes. Substance abuse is also being studied.
Parental alcohol use has been identified in previous
research as a risk factor for child abuse, and
recent research considers alcohol use to be a
possible consequence of early childhood
victimization. In view of these intergenerational
links, the study will focus on the connections
between child abuse, alcohol abuse, and violence.
In addition, because many victimized children
appeared not to exhibit adverse effects of abuse
and neglect, the research will examine the influence
of protective factors that might have buffered them
from developing negative outcomes, particularly
violent criminal behavior.
Data collection and analysis are projected for
completion in 1995, and the findings will be
prepared for publication. Support received from
the National Institute of Justice has been
supplemented by a grant from the National
Institute of Mental Health.
Notes
1. A summary of this research is in Widom, Cathy
Spatz, The Cycle of Violence, Research in Brief,
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice,
National Institute of Justice, October 1992. The
document can be obtained from the National
Criminal Justice Reference Service, Box 6000,
Rockville, MD 20849-6000; call 800-851-3420 or
order through the Internet at
http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/abuse.txtMy point remains a mystery, however.
