A Thirty-year Follow-Up on the “Cycle of Violence”

• In Event: Violence Exposure in Childhood and Criminal Activity: Connections and Correlates from Longitudinal Studies

Abstract

The notion of a cycle of violence -- that physically abused children grow up to become perpetrators of violence -- has been widely accepted in the literature, although recent evidence regarding this assumption suggests that the relationship is more complex than previously believed. This presentation will focus on the extent to which children who were maltreated (physical and sexual abuse and neglect) before the age of 12 are at increased risk of perpetration of violence. Findings are based on a large scale prospective examination of the long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect (N = 1,575) in which abused and neglected children and matched controls were followed up into adulthood. Updated criminal history record information (collected in 2013) is combined with prior records of arrest and extends information on these individuals to mean age 51. Implications of the findings for policy and practice will be discussed.

Author

• Cathy Spatz Widom, John Jay College of Criminal Justice / CUNY Graduate Center