Article 2 of the present thesis, entitled “Parameters of maltreatment as predictors of parameters of subsequent juvenile delinquency” sought to examine whether the parameters of maltreatment (i.e., recurrence and all subtypes) predict certain parameters of juvenile delinquency (i.e., precocity, volume, variety, average severity and subtypes) and to analyze sex differences. Thus, the investigation of the maltreatment – delinquency links was pushed beyond description using multivariable analyses. The results of this paper were expected to yield implications for policy, prevention and intervention efforts that target crossover youth.
The investigation of the Quebec delinquent population revealed that the parameters of maltreatment generally predict a weak but significant proportion of the variance of the parameters of delinquency. Overall, the recurrence of maltreatment is an important predictor of the parameters of subsequent offending. In addition, maltreated boys demonstrate more problematic indicators of juvenile delinquency than maltreated girls.
5.2.1 Predicting the parameters of juvenile delinquency
Precocity. Among the parameters of juvenile delinquency that Article 2 sought to predict was precocity, or the age at which an individual committed his or her first guilty offence. Youth who were victims of neglect, sexually abuse, psychological maltreatment and recurrent maltreatment are likely to have an earlier age of onset of delinquency. This original finding may be linked to Moffitt’s developmental taxonomy (1993), which posits that an
interaction between deficits in cognitive functions and negative environments, such as ineffective parenting, produces an early onset of antisocial or delinquent behavior.
Volume and variety. Article 2 of this thesis also sought to predict the volume and variety of delinquency, or the total number and subtypes of guilty crimes committed by an individual, from parameters of maltreatment history. Findings revealed that the volume of offending is predicted by the recurrence of maltreatment and a history of neglect. This paper therefore supports the cumulative risk model and past research (Evans & Burton, 2013; Ireland et al., 2002; Lemmon, 2006; Maschi, Bradley, & Morken, 2008; Stewart, Livingston, & Dennison, 2008; Verrecchia, Fetzer, Lemmon, & Austin, 2011) that found that the more frequently a youth suffers maltreatment the more frequently he or she will commit delinquent offences. The finding linking neglect to an elevated number of crimes is in line with Evans and Burton (2013) and may be explained by the impaired decision making capacities of neglected youth (Evans & Burton, 2013) or an overall lack of parental supervision (Evans & Burton, 2013; Maughan & Moore, 2010). The recurrence of maltreatment also predicted the variety, or polymorphism, of subsequent juvenile delinquency. To our knowledge, this finding is novel in the maltreatment – delinquency literature and may be related to the covariation between the volume and variety of juvenile delinquency in the present thesis.
Average severity. Article 2 also sought to predict the average severity of juvenile delinquency from the parameters of maltreatment history. Results showed that no specific parameters of maltreatment predict the severity of subsequent offending, which is somewhat in contradiction to Hoeve and colleagues (2008). However, the offence severity index utilized in this thesis is not without its limitations and may partly explain the results, as discussed in Article 2.
Subtypes of delinquency. Findings revealed that the risk of committing crimes against the person is predicted by a history of physical abuse and recurrent maltreatment. The result concerning physical abuse is in line with previous research (Asscher, Van der Put, & Stams, 2015; Lansford, Miller-Johnson, Berlin, Dodge, Bates, & Pettit, 2007; Mersky & Reynolds, 2007) and lends credence to the theory that children who are physically abused are more likely to develop biased patterns of processing social information (Lansford et al., 2007) that may in turn lead to violent behavior (Dodge, Pettit, Bates, & Valente, 1995). The finding regarding
the recurrence of maltreatment corroborates the premise of the cumulative risk model as well as Lemmon’s (2006) research.
In addition, once again in line with the cumulative risk model, the experience of multiple incidents of maltreatment is linked to an increased risk of committing property crimes and drug offences. Although evidence has shown that the presence of past maltreatment is predictive of these crimes (Cronley, Jeong, Davis, & Madden, 2015; Loeber, Farrington, Stouthamer-Loeber, & White, 2008; Mersky, Topitzes, & Reynolds, 2012; Zingraff, Leiter, Johnsen, & Myers, 1993), no known studies have examined the impact of the recurrence of this maltreatment. Similarly to homeless youth (Zlotnick, Tam, & Soman, 2012), maltreated youth may be lacking adequate family and social networks and may be particularly vulnerable to relying on survival skills, including criminal behavior such as theft and drug dealing, to meet their needs. Future research should be directed toward illuminating the connection between maltreatment and property and drug crimes, specifically as they relate to the recurrence of maltreatment.
5.2.2 The relative importance of maltreatment
Despite most of the prediction models in Article 2 being significant, the parameters of maltreatment account for only a small portion of the variance of the parameters of juvenile delinquency. It may therefore be important to include real-life correlates of maltreatment in prediction models in order to comprehensively capture the risk factors that predict subsequent offending and to evaluate the relative importance of maltreatment. Categorized into five life domains (individual, family, peer, school, and community), these risk factors may include attention problems, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, substance use, parental criminality, poor academic achievement, and delinquent peer association, in addition to maltreatment (Becker & Kerig, 2011; Day et al., 2011).