Citation

Freedman LF, Wong JS, Corrado RR. J. Crime Justice 2017; 40(2): 138-154.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Midwestern Criminal Justice Association, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/0735648X.2015.1105147

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Children in care (CIC) are at a heightened risk of engaging in serious and violent offending. This has been explained in relation to cumulative risk, whereby CIC are more likely to be exposed to traditional criminogenic risk factors, in addition to those specific to placement in care (e.g. removal from parental custody, placement shifts among caregivers). Limited research has been conducted on CIC engaging in serious and violent offenses, and thus it remains unclear whether these youth are at an increased risk of engaging in antisocial behavior when compared to other young offenders who are also exposed to a multitude of risk factors. Using a sample of 417 male-incarcerated youth in British Columbia, CIC and non-CIC were compared across a range of risk factors and antisocial behaviors to ascertain whether CIC represent a distinct population with unique risks and needs compared to their non-CIC counterparts. Though several risk factors were observed at a high frequency among CIC participants, few significant differences were observed in bivariate or multivariate analyses.

Language: en