Citation

Felson RB, Lane KJ. Aggressive Behav. 2009; 35(6): 489-501.

Affiliation

Department of Crime, Law, and Justice and Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, International Society for Research on Aggression, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/ab.20322

PMID

19746414

Abstract

This research examines the relationship between childhood physical and sexual abuse and the types of crimes committed by male adult offenders. We use the method of discriminant prediction to determine whether independent and dependent variables are related in ways that theories predict. Our analyses of data from the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities suggest that offenders model specific behaviors to which they have been exposed. Male offenders who were sexually abused as a child are more likely to commit sexual offenses, particularly sexual offenses against children, than nonsexual offenses. Offenders who were physically abused are more likely to engage in violent offenses than nonviolent offenses. Further analyses show that sexual offenders, and to a lesser extent violent offenders, are likely to specialize in those offenses. Our results are consistent with a social learning approach. They address a heretofore neglected issue: what exactly do children model when they are mistreated.

Language: en