Citation

DeGue S, Widom CS. Child Maltreat. 2009; 14(4): 344-355.

Affiliation

John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077559509332264

PMID

19258304

Abstract

Existing research on child welfare interventions as mediators of the criminal consequences of child maltreatment has focused on juvenile delinquency rather than adult criminality. This study uses a prospective sample of 772 maltreated youth to examine out-of-home placement as a mediator of adult criminality. Arrest data were collected from official records when the full sample was a mean age of 31.8, having ample opportunity for involvement with the criminal justice system. Overall, out-of-home placement showed a neutral or slightly positive effect on adult criminality compared to no placement, consistent with earlier findings. However, prior delinquency and placement instability were significant risk factors for adult criminality. Gender, not race, was identified as a significant moderator of the relationship between placement and adult criminality, with different patterns of response to placement for males and females. Thus, whether placement experiences influence adult criminal consequences of child maltreatment might depend on prior delinquency, placement stability, and gender.

Language: en