illion had been “beaten up” by one or both parents (Miller, 1993). This kind of abuse leads to an anticipation of violence by the child and produces an adolescent who is cold, callous, and often insensitive. Experts argue child abuse sets up a cyclical pattern of abuse, wherein the child who is abused at home begins to lash out at others outside the home.
Abused children also deal with a great deal of internal anger and hostility from their abuse, and because they associate the abuse with parental abandonment (basically another form of abuse). These feelings often overwhelm the abused child, who soon moves into uncontrollable rage and tends to abuse others through his or her delinquent acts (Clark, 1996). Research such as this into the correlation between child abuse and delinquent behavior is significant in a society where the costs of child abuse and juvenile delinquency cost taxpayers $94 billion annually, or $258 million a day (Levine, 2001, 58). This analysis will now review the literature pertaining to child abuse and its correlation with delinquency.
Since 1990, several researchers have attempted to examine the correlation between child abuse and the development of delinquent behaviors. One landmark study conducted by Dembo, Williams, and Schmeidler (1993) addressed the issue of gender-based differences in mental health service needs among youth entering the juvenile justice system. The researches collected data from 399 male and female youths entering juvenile detention centers. Various comparisons were made using a wide range of variables, including socio-demographic characteristics, family problems, records of contact with juvenile court, physical abuse, sexual victimization, alcohol and/or drug use crimes, and emotional/psychological functioning.
Among their findings, the researchers discover many of the children had been abused by an adult prior to their detention. At least 50% of the total popul...