Child Neglect and Delinquency in Adolescence

• In Event: Advances in Life-Course Criminology: Family Contexts, Adversity, and Justice System Contact

Abstract

Child maltreatment remains a pervasive issue that can set victims on trajectories of cumulative disadvantage, where early adversity increases the likelihood of future challenges and inequalities. Efforts to understand the consequences of these trajectories have prompted extensive research devoted to understanding and mitigating various forms of maltreatment, including physical and sexual abuse. Yet, despite being the most prevalent form of maltreatment, neglect often receives comparatively less scholarly focus. This study aims to contribute to this literature by investigating how the timing (i.e., when neglect occurs) and duration (i.e., how long it persists) of childhood neglect influence delinquency in adolescence. This study will use data from the Future of Families & Child Wellbeing Study which employs a national sample of 4,897 urban-born, at-risk youth followed from birth to age 22. Neglect is captured as both physical and emotional neglect spanning ages 3 to 9 of childhood and is reported by each parent and/or the primary caregiver. The analyses will control for a host of confounding factors used to assess self-reported delinquency in adolescence at age 15. Findings will contribute to understanding how early-life neglect can initiate cumulative disadvantage and influence offending trajectories over the life course.

Author

• Sibo Espitia Pierluissi, University of Colorado Boulder