Child abuse and delinquency: the empirical and theoretical links.
There is an association between child abuse and delinquency, but problems with study design, definition, and method currently prevent a definitive understanding of the sequences and causal relations involved. The evidence indicates that a bidirectional relationship exists between child abuse and delinquency. A framework that uses Patterson's analysis of coercive processes suggests that child characteristics, parental inadequacies, and external stressors each play a part in child abuse and delinquency.
Howing
P T
PT
School of Social Work, University of Georgia, Athens 30602.
Wodarski
J S
JS
Kurtz
P D
PD
Gaudin
J M
JM
Herbst
E N
EN
D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency