Child abuse and violence against the family

VioLit summary: OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study by Kratcoski was to explore the relationship between experiencing physical abuse as a child and later commission of violent delinquent acts. Culture of violence theory, stress theory, and social learning theory were used to explain the results. METHODOLOGY: A non-experimental exploratory design was employed using 863 case files of delinquent adolescent males incarcerated in 4 high security institutions for serious offenders in Ohio. Analysis of data involved abstracting and interpreting data in the case files as well as abstracting the case summaries written by psychologists or social workers. Occasionally, a social worker or psychologist familiar with a particular case would supply additional information not available in the files. For research purposes, violent behavior was defined as "the illegal use or threat of force against personsany non-accidental physical injury inflicted on a child by a parent or other caretaker deliberately or in anger" (p.439). Only instances in which there were clear cut indications of physical maltreatment (the abuser had been officially accused or processed through the courts) were considered. The majority of the abused children were severely beaten with objects such as belts or whips, and in some cases sexual abuse occurred. Finally, for the purposes of the study, a key concept involved defining violent acts against significant others. Significant others included parents, stepparents, foster parents, adult relatives, caretakers, teachers, siblings, and close peers. The targets were determined from the case files. ANOVA was used to analyze the data. FINDINGS/DISCUSSION: Of the 863 cases surveyed, 223 (26%) of the adolescents had experienced physical abuse in some form. A comparison of the abused and nonabused adolescents did not reveal significant differences in age, number of delinquent acts officially recorded, or proportion from broken homes. Also, more than 90% in both groups were from working class or lower class levels. Significant differences were found regarding race. 28% of the whites in the sample had experienced abuse, compared to 22% of the blacks. 33% of the abused children had experienced violence from their fathers, 10% from stepfathers, and 17% from mothers. 27% had been abused by both parents. Cases revealed that 85% of the abused children were abused on more than one occasion. The two groups did not differ significantly when comparing the frequency of violent offenses. More than 75% of the youths in both groups had committed at least one violent act. When abused and nonabused delinquents were compared in terms of violence against significant others, it was revealed that significantly more of the abused youths directed violence toward significant others. 26% of the abused youths directed violence toward significant others compared to 14% of the nonabused. 45% of the abused youths directed violence toward immediate family members or caretakers while only 18% of nonabused did so. Little difference was found between the two groups regarding violence toward institutional staff, with 27% of the abused and 25% of the nonabused taking part. AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS: The author argued that the results of their study lend credence to both learning and stress theories of delinquency. The author further argued that it would be naive to assume that the simple fact of being an abused child would be an adequate explanation or predictor of violent juvenile behavior. Rather than define the common characteristics of violent offenders, more attention must be given to the context within which violence is manifested. The author suggested that a parent or significant other may be attacked for widely varying reasons which included the following--violence to protect another parent or sibling who is being beaten, an adolescent who is attacked by a parent strikes back in self-defense, or a conflict arises in a situation in which an adolescent sees parental behavior as inappropriate and therefore, punishes the parent by beating him/her. It was also noted that a child may attack if he/she is mentally disturbed or deficient and not responsible for his or her abusive behavior. Finally, a child who views parents as weak, useless, or a drag on him because they require attention may strike out in violent aggressive resentment. EVALUATION: Serious juvenile offenders are of the greatest concern both because of their youth and because of the danger they pose. This study finds that significantly more of those in institutions who were abused were also violent, evidence for the idea of intergenerational transmission of violence. Data for this study, however, have many potential weaknesses. First, the source for the data were case files supplemented by case worker recollections. There is a weakness here in that interpretations were collected, not the words of the juveniles themselves. Additionally, determinations of abuse were abstracted from very indirect sources and may reflect some coding bias and interpretation. The sample of cases is large, but the cases included are likely very non-representative of juveniles in general. Given that the interest is in the seriously delinquent, this is less of a problem, but the geographical specificity of the study warrants caution in viewing the results. Further study should broaden the range to include regional variation and, perhaps, include serious juvenile offenders who are not sent to the institutional setting. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado) N1 - Call Number: F-286, AB-286 KW - Ohio KW - Child Victim KW - Child Male KW - Child Abuse Victim KW - Child Abuse Effects KW - Child Abuse-Delinquency Link KW - Child Physical Abuse Victim KW - Child Physical Abuse Effects KW - Childhood Victimization KW - Childhood Experience KW - Domestic Violence Effects KW - Domestic Violence Victim KW - Victim Turned Offender KW - Stress Theory KW - Social Learning Theory KW - Subculture of Violence Theory KW - Juvenile Delinquency KW - Juvenile Offender KW - Juvenile Violence KW - Juvenile Inmate KW - Male Delinquency KW - Male Inmate KW - Male Offender KW - Male Violence KW - Violence Causes KW - Delinquency Causes KW - Incarcerated KW - Inmate Studies Language: en