Dangerous boys or boys in danger? Examining the relationship between ethnicity, child abuse and violent offending

Abstract

This study considers the extent to which ethnic differences in exposure to child abuse exist between native Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch boys, and, if they do, whether they are related to differences in levels of violent offending between both groups. The results demonstrate that Moroccan-Dutch boys are significantly more likely to report exposure to child abuse than Dutch boys. In addition, differences in exposure to child abuse are of sufficient magnitude to partially explain the observed differences in levels of violent offending between Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch boys. The results of this study highlight the need for social services and criminal justice professionals to provide prevention and intervention strategies for abused adolescent boys. This may be particularly important for Moroccan-Dutch boys. Ethnic-specific prevention programmes need to build on a clear understanding of the risk factors and aetiology of juvenile violent offending and need to continue to examine the meaning of the differential risk ratios across ethnic groups. We suggest that further research into the effects of child abuse on juvenile violent delinquency among ethnic minority youth should take this complexity into account.