The relationship between childhood physical abuse and juvenile delinquency

Abstract

Intergenerational research in criminology often focuses on the cycle of violence. Despite the increased attention to intergenerational transmission processes, there is often disagreement about the measurements used and the analytical methods applied. Using data from the German longitudinal prospective panel study Crime in the Modern City (CRIMOC), the current study sought (1) to make a statement concerning the extent of the participants’ self-reported experiences of physical violence in childhood as committed by their own parents, (2) to examine the connection between the participants’ experience of violence and subsequent delinquency in adolescence, and (3) to determine how the definition or operationalization of physical abuse has influenced results regarding the reported connection with delinquency. The findings illustrate the suspected connection between physical abuse and delinquency or violent delinquency, especially for those who have experienced severe violent treatment by their parents. These results remain stable even with different definitions and operationalizations of physical abuse.