Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse

ENT OF M JU U.S. Department of Justice T S R T A I P C E E D

O J C S Office of Justice Programs F A V M F O I N A C I J S R E BJ G O OJJ DP O F PR National Institute of Justice JUSTICE National Institute of Justice R e s e a r c h i n B r i e f Jeremy Travis, Director March 1995

Issues and Findings Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse– Discussed in the Brief: Previous research established evidence for a Later Criminal Consequences “cycle of violence”: people who were abused and neglected in by Cathy Spatz Widom childhood are more likely than those who were not to become in- Over the past 25 years, much has been Focus on sexual abuse volved in criminal behavior, includ- written about the “cycle of violence” or This Research in Brief reports the finding violent crime, later in life. This the “intergenerational transmission of ings from an analysis of a specific type of Research in Brief, the second in a violence.” These terms refer to the pos- series on the cycle of violence, ex- maltreatment—childhood sexual abuse— sible negative consequences later in life amines the criminal consequences and its possible association with criminal for children who are sexually or physi- in adulthood of a particular type of behavior later in life.2 Using the same cally abused or neglected. These conse- childhood victimization: sexual cases of individuals studied previously, quences include an increased potential abuse. It traces the same individu- the researcher sought to find out whether for violent behavior. In earlier work the als studied initially, using official those who had been sexually abused were records of arrest and juvenile researcher examined criminal records on more likely to engage in later delinquent detention. more than 1,500 individuals to deter- and criminal behavior than those who had mine whether the experience of abuse or Key issues: experienced the other types of abuse. Is neglect during childhood increased the there an “inevitable” or likely progres- ● likelihood of arrest as a juvenile or Whether sexual abuse—more sion from being sexually victimized in than other forms of childhood vic- young adult. The research clearly re- childhood to being charged with an timization—makes people more vealed that a childhood history of physi- offense in adulthood, particularly sex likely to become involved in delin- cal abuse predisposes the survivor to offenses. quent and criminal behavior later violence in later years, and that victims in life. of neglect are more likely to engage in This examination is part of a two-phase ● Whether sexual abuse during later violent criminal behavior as well. study of the long-term consequences of childhood makes it more likely that childhood abuse and neglect. The findings Of all types of childhood maltreatment, these victims will be charged with reported here are from the first phase, physical abuse was the most likely to be a sex crime as an adult. which used the arrest records of juveniles associated with arrest for a violent crime and adults to measure the criminal conse- ● Whether there is a “pathway” later in life. The group next most likely quences of being maltreated. In the second from being sexually abused as a to be arrested for a violent offense were phase, now underway, interviews are being child, to running away as a juve- those who had experienced neglect in conducted in an attempt to draw a more nile, to being arrested for prostitu- childhood, a finding of particular inter- complete picture of such consequences. tion as an adult. est. Though a more “passive” form of The researcher is looking at criminal be- maltreatment, neglect has been associ- havior that may not have been included in ated with an array of developmental continued on page 2 official records and at other negative out- problems, and the finding extended that comes, including mental health, educa- array to include greater risk of later tional, substance abuse, and other criminal violence.1 R e s e a r c h i n B r i e f

Issues and Findings problems. (See “Preview of Work in sexual abuse. It is also possible that Progress.”) people forget or redefine their behaviors continued . . . in accordance with later life circum- Evidence from other studies stances and their current situation. Key findings: The link between childhood sexual Another difficulty with these methods lies ● People who were sexually victim- abuse and negative consequences for the with their reliance on correlation. They in- ized during childhood are at higher victims later in life has been examined volve data collection at only one point in risk of arrest for committing crimes as adults, including sex crimes, than in clinical reports and research studies time. In examining the relationship be- are people who did not suffer sexual in the past two decades. Frequently re- tween sexual abuse and later delinquent or physical abuse or neglect during ported consequences include acting-out behavior or adult criminality, it is impor- childhood. However, the risk of ar- behaviors, such as running away, tru- tant to ensure the correct temporal se- rest for childhood sexual abuse vic- ancy, conduct disorder, delinquency, quence of events; that is, to make certain tims as adults is no higher than for promiscuity, and inappropriate sexual that the incident of childhood sexual victims of other types of childhood behavior. Studies of prostitutes have also abuse clearly preceded (not followed) de- abuse and neglect. revealed an association between sexual linquency. Thus, multiple data collection ● The vast majority of childhood abuse during childhood and deviant and points are needed. The few studies that sexual abuse victims are not arrested criminal behavior. do not rely on retrospection have investi- for sex crimes or any other crimes as gated consequences only over relatively adults. These and other findings have been the short periods of time. basis for theories linking childhood ● Compared to victims of childhood sexual abuse to the development of devi- Perhaps the most serious methodological physical abuse and neglect, victims of ant and criminal behavior later in life. shortcoming is the frequent lack of appro- childhood sexual abuse are at greater Among researchers as well as clinicians, priate control or comparison groups. Child- risk of being arrested for one type of acceptance of this link is fairly wide- hood sexual abuse often occurs in the sex crime: prostitution. spread. However, as a review of research context of multiproblem homes, and sexual ● For the specific sex crimes of rape into the impact of childhood sexual victimization of children may be only one and sodomy, victims of physical abuse has indicated, the empirical evi- of these problems. Without control groups, abuse tended to be at greater risk for dence may not be sufficient to justify the effects of other family characteristics, committing those crimes than were this acceptance.3 And, a recent review of such as poverty, unemployment, parental sexual abuse victims and people who the long-term effects of childhood sexual alcoholism or drug problems, or other in- had not been victimized. abuse—which cited sexual disturbance, adequate social and family functioning, ● What might seem to be a logical depression, suicide, revictimization, and cannot be easily disentangled from the progression from childhood sexual postsexual abuse syndrome—noted specific effects of sexual abuse. 4 abuse to running away to prostitu- criminal consequences only in passing. tion was not borne out. The adults The present study arrested for prostitution were not the The need for a new approach runaways identified in this study. The study posed three questions de- The methods used to conduct these stud- signed to shed light on the possible long- Target audience: Law enforcement ies make interpretation difficult. For one term criminal consequences of officials, child protection service pro- thing, most used retrospective self- childhood sexual abuse: fessionals, researchers, judges, family reports of adults who had been sexually counselors, and victim service organi- abused as children; that is, they relied ● Is there a higher risk of criminal be- zations and agencies. on the subjects’ own recall. Retrospec- havior later in life? Compared to early tive accounts of sexual abuse may be childhood experiences of physical abuse subject to bias or error. For example, un- and neglect (and also compared to chil- conscious denial (or repression of trau- dren who did not experience maltreat- matic events in childhood) may prevent ment, at least as documented by official recollection of severe cases of childhood records), does sexual abuse in early

2 R e s e a r c h i n B r i e f childhood increase the risk of delin- How the study was were processed through the courts be- quent and criminal behavior? conducted5 tween 1967 and 1971. All were 11 years The study examined the official crimi- of age or younger at the time of the ● Is there a higher risk of committing nal histories of a large number of incident(s). sex crimes? Are childhood sexual abuse people whose sexual victimization dur- victims more likely to commit such crimes The research used a “matched ing childhood had been validated. as prostitution, rape, and sodomy? cohorts” design. Such studies involve These victims of sexual abuse were selecting groups of subjects who are ● compared to cases of physical abuse Is there a link between sexual similar (matched) to each other but and neglect and to a control group of abuse, running away, and prostitu- who differ in the characteristic being individuals who were closely matched tion? Is there a significant and direct studied. The “cohort” of children who in age, race, sex, and approximate relationship between early childhood had been abused or neglected was family socioeconomic status. sexual abuse, being arrested as a run- matched with the control group, which away as an adolescent, and, in turn, be- The groups selected for study. The sub- consisted of children who had not been ing arrested for prostitution as an adult? jects were 908 individuals who had been abused or neglected. subjected as children to abuse (physical Both groups were followed into ado- or sexual) or neglect, and whose cases lescence and young adulthood to determine if they had engaged in delinquent behavior or had committed Preview of Work in Progress crimes as adults. At the time they were chosen for the study, none of them had I f someone commits a crime but is Information from the interviews is being as yet engaged in delinquent or crimi- not apprehended, the crime will not ap- used to document a number of long-term nal behavior. The major aim of this pear in official arrest records. For this rea- consequences of childhood victimization, in- analysis was to determine whether son, in studying the link between cluding social, emotional, cognitive and in- sexual abuse during childhood puts childhood victimization and negative con- tellectual, occupational, psychiatric, and victims at greater risk for criminal be- sequences in adulthood, including crimi- general health outcomes. Substance abuse is havior later in life than do the other nal behavior, it is important to examine also being studied. Parental alcohol use has types of maltreatment. evidence from other sources. In addition, been identified in previous research as a risk victims of childhood abuse and neglect factor for child abuse, and recent research Sources of information about mal- may manifest problems other than crimi- considers alcohol use to be a possible conse- treatment. Because it was important to nal behavior later in life, and these too quence of early childhood victimization. In use substantiated cases of physical and cannot be traced through arrest records. view of these intergenerational links, the sexual abuse and neglect, the study re- study will focus on the connections between The first phase of this study relied exclu- child abuse, alcohol abuse, and violence. lied on the official records of agencies sively on official records to document inci- that handled these cases. Detailed in- dents of delinquency and criminality. In addition, because many victimized chil- formation about the abuse and/or ne- Because of the limitations of this type of dren appeared not to exhibit adverse effects glect incident and family composition record, the second phase, begun in 1989, of abuse and neglect, the research will ex- and characteristics of study subjects used interviews. An attempt is being amine the influence of “protective” factors was obtained from the files of the juve- made to locate as many as possible of the that might have buffered them from devel- nile court and probation department. 1,575 people who were studied during oping negative outcomes, particularly violent The records of the sexual abuse cases the first phase, for the in-person inter- criminal behavior. views. Since the abuse and/or neglect inci- were obtained from the juvenile court dents took place some 20 years ago, most Data collection and analysis are projected for and from the adult criminal court of a of these people had become young adults completion in 1995, and the findings will be metropolitan area in the Midwest.6 in their early 20’s and 30’s by the time of prepared for publication. Support received the interviews. from the National Institute of Justice has Like all sources of information, official been supplemented by a grant from the records have certain limitations. Some National Institute of Mental Health. incidents are not reported to law enforcement or social service agencies.

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Moreover, the cases studied were pro- The sources of information for delin- of the individuals abused or neglected cessed before the child abuse report- quency and crime. Finding out as children were arrested for these of- ing laws were passed, when many whether the subjects had become de- fenses as adults, compared to only 5.2 cases of sexual abuse were not brought linquent and/or committed crime as percent of the control group. to the attention of the authorities. For adults required identifying accurate these reasons, the findings cannot be sources of information about these Sexual abuse. All types of abuse and ne- interpreted as applying to all inci- types of behavior. The researcher de- glect in childhood put people at dents. It is more likely that they repre- cided to use official arrest records as greater risk for arrest later in life. But sented only the serious and extreme the source, for a number of reasons. an important finding of this study is cases—those brought to the attention They are relatively easy to locate and that, in cases of sexual abuse, the risk of the social service and criminal jus- contain reasonably complete informa- is no greater than for other types of tice systems. tion. The source of information about maltreatment. (See table 2.) In other delinquent juveniles was the files of words, the victims of sexual abuse are Types of maltreatment. The sexual the juvenile probation department. no more likely than other victims to abuse cases represented a variety of become involved with crime. charges, from relatively nonspecific Criminal consequences ones of “assault and battery with intent A breakdown of the types of offenses to gratify sexual desires” to more spe- In general, people who experience reveals one exception. People who cific ones of “fondling or touching in any type of maltreatment during child- were victimized during childhood by an obscene manner,” sodomy, incest, hood—whether sexual abuse, physical either physical abuse or neglect in ad- and the like. The physical abuse cases abuse, or neglect—are more likely dition to sexual abuse (the Sexual included those involving injuries such than people who were not maltreated Abuse Plus group) were more likely as bruises, welts, burns, abrasions, to be arrested later in life. This is true than those subjected to other types of lacerations, wounds, cuts, bone and for juvenile as well as adult arrests. As maltreatment (and also more likely skull fractures. The neglect cases re- the figures in table 2 indicate, 26 per- than the controls) to be arrested as flected the judgment of the court that cent of the people who were abused runaways during their juvenile years. the parents’ deficiencies in child care and/or neglected were later arrested as were beyond those found acceptable juveniles, compared with only 16.8 Likelihood of arrest for sex crimes by community and professional stan- percent of the people who were not. Could it be that additional breakdowns dards at the time. They represented The figures for adults also indicate a of types of offenses would reveal extreme failure to provide adequate greater likelihood of arrest among greater risk for individuals who were food, clothing, shelter, and medical people who were maltreated during sexually abused in childhood? Previ- attention. childhood.

Subgroups created for the study. A For certain specific offenses, the like- Table 1: Types of Child case was identified as involving sexual lihood of arrest is also greater among Victimization Cases abuse if there was evidence in the people who were abused and/or ne- Number records that the charge had been sub- glected. (These figures are not pre- Type of Cases stantiated. Of these cases, most in- sented in tabular format.) For example, Physical Abuse volved sexual abuse only, but some 14.3 percent of the people who were and Neglect 70 involved physical abuse and/or neglect abused or neglected as children were Physical Abuse in addition. Because exposure to these later charged with property crimes as Only 76 different types of abuse may have dif- juveniles, while this was true for only Neglect Only 609 ferent consequences, distinctions were 8.5 percent of the controls. A similar Sexual Abuse Only 125 made. Cases involving only sexual difference in the rate of property crime Sexual Abuse Plus abuse are referrenced as Sexual Abuse arrests was found among adults. Child- (Sexual abuse with physical abuse Only. The others are referred to as hood abuse and neglect were also as- and/or neglect) 28 Sexual Abuse Plus (sexual abuse plus sociated with later arrest for drug- physical abuse or neglect). (table 1.) related offenses. More than 8 percent Total 908

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an adolescent, and then becoming a Table 2: Likelihood of Arrest Depending on Type of Abuse Experienced prostitute as an adult. The findings of the current research support the first Type of Abuse Number of Any Juvenile Any Adult Subjects Arrests Arrest Arrest part of this relationship; 5.8 percent %% of abused and neglected children became runaways, compared with only All Cases of Abuse and Neglect 908 26.0*** 28.6*** 2.4 percent of the controls. Any Sexual Abuse 153 22.2 20.3 As noted earlier, the researcher Any Physical Abuse 146 19.9 27.4 found that sexually abused children were more likely than other victims to Any Neglect 609 28.4 30.7 be arrested for prostitution as adults, Control Group 667 16.8 21.0 and the odds were higher that a sexu-

Note: the asterisks indicate instances in which the differences between all cases of abuse/neglect and ally abused child would be charged the control groups were statistically significant. with prostitution as an adult (table 4). ***p<.001 (The probability is less than 1 in 1,000 that the occurrence could have happened by chance.) But are juvenile runaways subsequently charged with prostitution? ous research indicating that these creased risk of subsequent arrest for a The researcher looked at all run- people are more likely to be arrested sex crime (2.2 times the rate for the con- aways in the sample studied, both the for sex crimes suggests this might be trols). (See table 3.) victimized groups and the control the case. group. When some of these runaways Specific sex crimes. The study also became adults, they were charged Sex crimes in general. Arrest records looked at various types of sex crimes, with sex crimes. None of the run- revealed that, compared to children and the breakdown revealed more aways were arrested for prostitution, who had not been victimized, those complexity. The differences among the however. who had been were more likely to be groups in arrest for one particular sex arrested for sex crimes. Thus, experi- crime, prostitution, were significant. Thus, the findings do not support the encing any type of abuse/neglect in Arrests for this crime were rare, but notion of a direct causal link between childhood increases the risk for sex child sex abuse victims were more childhood victimization, becoming a crimes. Children who were sexually likely to be charged with it than were runaway, and in turn being arrested for abused were about as likely as neglect victims of physical abuse and neglect. prostitution. Some adults were found to victims to be arrested for any sex (Table 4.) The same is true for the be arrested for prostitution, but they crime and less likely than victims of odds. Among children who were sexu- were not the runaways in this sample. physical abuse. (See table 3.) ally abused, the odds are 27.7 times higher than for the control group of be- Understanding the aftermath Calculating the odds that abused and ing arrested for prostitution as an of childhood sexual abuse neglected children will subsequently be adult.7 For rape or sodomy, childhood arrested for sex crimes as adults con- victims of physical abuse were found to All types of childhood abuse and ne- firmed the statistics on likelihood of ar- be at higher risk of arrest than either glect put the victims at higher risk for rest. For abused and neglected children other victims or the controls, and the criminal behavior. However, the par- in general, the odds of being arrested as odds of arrest for these crimes were 7.6 ticular type of victimization suffered adults for a sex crime were higher than times higher than for the controls. by children who are sexually abused for nonvictims. Among sexually abused does not set them apart. It does not put children, the odds were 4.7 times From sexual abuse to running away them at an even higher risk of arrest, higher. Among physically abused chil- to prostitution—Is the path inevi- for they are no more likely than children, the odds of arrest as adults for a table? It may seem logical to assume dren who are physically abused or ne- sex crime were only a bit less—more that children who are sexually abused glected to be charged with a crime than four times higher than for the con- follow a direct path from being later in life. trols. Neglected children were also at in- victimized to becoming a runaway as

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association between these crimes and Table 3: Likelihood and Odds of Being Arrested for Any Sex Crimea childhood physical abuse, not sexual abuse. Males who were physically Type of Childhood Number of Likelihoodb Oddsc abused in childhood showed a greater Victimization Subjects % tendency than other abused and ne- Any Sexual Abuse 153 3.9 4.7 glected children and the controls to be arrested for these types of sex crimes. Any Physical Abuse 146 6.2 4.1 This is consistent with earlier findings Any Neglect 609 3.6 2.2 regarding the “cycle of violence,” Control Group 667 1.6 — which indicated that physical abuse in childhood is associated with the high- aSex crimes include prostitution, incest, child molestation, rape, sodomy, assault and est rates of arrest for violence later in battery with intent to gratify, peeping, public indecency, criminal deviant conduct, and life.8 Thus, the violent aspect of rape contributing to the delinquency of a minor. rather than its sexual component or bp<.02 sexual motivation may explain the as- cThe numbers are odds ratios. They depict the odds that a person who has experienced a sociation. Indeed, practitioners and certain type of childhood abuse or neglect will commit a sex crime. Thus, for example, the odds that a childhood sexual abuse victim will be arrested as an adult for any sex crime is clinicians who work with these victims 4.7 times higher than for people in the control group, who experienced no victimization as commonly refer to rape as a crime of children. (In calculating these odds, sex, age, and race were taken into account.) violence, not simply a sex crime.

The same is true for sex crimes. People sexual abuse in childhood and becom- Patterns of offending victimized by sexual abuse as children ing a runaway as a juvenile, they do Tentative evidence is offered here to are also significantly more likely than not support a subsequent link to adult support the notion that when sexual nonvictims to be arrested for a sex prostitution. That is, being arrested as abuse is differentiated by type, the crime, although no more so than victims an adolescent runaway does not pre- subsequent patterns of juvenile and of physical abuse and neglect. dispose people who were sexually adult offending are also different. The abused as children to be arrested for Sexual Abuse Plus group tended to be This similarity among all three groups prostitution as adults. of maltreatment victims suggests that at greater risk for running away, par- for sexual abuse victims, the criminal The current research is limited be- ticularly compared to the other abuse effect later in life may result not from cause of its exclusive reliance on offi- and neglect groups and the controls. the specifically sexual nature of the cial criminal histories. Certainly, such Other analysis showed this group more incident but rather from the trauma and records underestimate the number of often victimized by family members or stress of these early childhood experi- runaways, since many of them may be relatives in their own homes than the ences or society’s response to them. brought to the attention of social ser- Sexual Abuse Only group. If one’s vice agencies without being arrested. home is abusive in multiple ways, it is For prostitution, the likelihood is For this reason, other types of data not surprising that the victims would greater. For prostitution, findings should be examined. However, the fact resort to running away as an escape. were consistent with those of previous that none of the runaways identified in studies: childhood sexual abuse vic- this study were arrested for prostitu- These tentative differences suggest tims run a greater risk than other mal- tion (while other individuals were) that studies of the long-term conse- treatment victims of being arrested for suggests that the connection is at least quences of childhood sexual abuse prostitution. The percentage of sexual not as strong as would have been might find it worthwhile to disaggre- abuse victims arrested for this offense previously thought. gate sexual abuse experiences into was low, however (3.3 percent). groups consisting exclusively of sexual Other sex crimes. Childhood sexual abuse and groups consisting of sexual From runaway to prostitute? As abuse victims were not at greater risk abuse in conjunction with other child- noted earlier, while the findings sup- later in life of arrest for rape or sod- hood victimization. Future research port the existence of a link between omy. Rather, the findings reveal an might examine the question of whether

6 R e s e a r c h i n B r i e f the effect of multiple forms of abuse is Implications for policy not only with respect to the more con- additive. ventional sexually transmitted dis- In planning and implementing treat- eases, but particularly to HIV ment and prevention programs for Criminal behavior is not the infection, makes the need for preven- children who are sexually abused, tion interventions directed at child- inevitable outcome practitioners need to keep in mind that hood sexual abuse even more urgent. The link between early childhood these children are in no sense destined sexual abuse and later delinquent and for later involvement in criminal be- adult criminal behavior is not inevi- havior. Like other victims of abuse and According to this table. Although it is clear that indi- neglect, the majority will manifest no study, child victims viduals who were sexually abused in such negative outcome, at least as evi- childhood are at increased risk of ar- denced by official records of arrest. arrested as rest as juveniles and adults, many do However, interventions need to be not become delinquents or adult crimi- grounded in the knowledge that child- runaways nals. In fact the majority of the sexu- hood victims of sexual abuse, as well are not arrested ally abused children in this study do as other types of abuse and neglect, not have an official criminal history are at increased risk for criminal in- for prostitution as adults. Long-term consequences of volvement compared to nonvictims. as adults. childhood sexual abuse may be mani- The need to avoid projecting criminal fest across a number of domains of As the example of prostitution makes psychological distress and dysfunc- outcomes for sexually abused children has to be balanced by awareness of the clear, outcomes later in life may differ tion, but not necessarily in criminal with the type of victimization experi- behavior. Delinquency and criminality particular risks they face. For example, interventions for sexually enced in childhood. This makes it evi- represent only one possible type of dent that not all types of childhood outcome of childhood sexual abuse. A abused children should be informed by knowing that the likelihood of be- maltreatment are alike and makes it number of researchers have described incumbent on practitioners to craft re- depression, anxiety, self-destructive coming a juvenile runaway is not only greater than among nonvictims, but sponses that meet particular needs. behavior, and low self-esteem among While practitioners need to be aware adults who were sexually abused in also greater than for other types of childhood maltreatment victims. In that sexually abused children are at childhood. Further research with these greater risk of becoming juvenile run- samples is underway to document the developing interventions, it is also important to consider the higher risk for aways, they also need to temper that long-term effects of childhood victim- awareness with the knowledge that ization in a broad array of outcomes. later prostitution that sexual abuse victims face. The health threat posed, these runaways are not necessarily (See “Preview of Work in Progress.”) “tracked” into prostitution as adults.

Table 4: Likelihood and Odds of Being Arrested for a Specific Sex Crime Information from the interview phase of the study is likely to bring further Type of Number Prostitution Rape or Sodomy nuances to light. If running away does a b b Childhood of Likelihood Odds Likelihood Odds not necessarily lead to prostitution, it Victimization Subjects %% may nonetheless place the victim at Any Sexual Abuse 153 3.3 27.7 0.7 c risk in ways that are not documented Any Physical Abuse 146 0.7 c 2.1 7.6 in the arrest record. Any Neglect 609 1.5 10.2 1.1 c The interviews may also shed light on Control Group 667 0.1 — 0.4 — intervening factors that mediate between the experience of victimization ap<.003 in childhood and behavioral outcomes bSee Note C on table 3. in adulthood. Again, prostitution is an cNot statistically significant. All other findings on odds were significant at the p<.05 level. example. Since prostitutes have

7 R e s e a r c h i n B r i e f diverse backgrounds, it is unlikely that (having a close relationship with a Sexual Victimization,” Child Abuse and Neglect, 18 any single factor (for example, child- supportive person, for example) may (1994):303–318. 3. Browne, A., and Finkelhor, D., “Impact of Sexual hood victimization) explains their en- have served as a buffer from the long- Abuse: A Review of the Research,” Psychological trance into this type of life. While term consequences. Protective factors Bulletin, 99 (1986):66–77. early sexual abuse places a child at in- in the lives of abused and neglected 4. Beitchman, J. H., et al., “A Review of the Long- creased risk, many other factors play a children need to be uncovered. Term Effects of Child Sexual Abuse,” Child Abuse and Neglect, 16 (1992):101–118. role, and these factors may emerge in Future studies need to examine cases 5. A full description of the research design is in the interviews. If such factors are Widom, Cathy Spatz, “Child Abuse, Neglect, and identified, they would necessarily af- in which children appear to have over- Adult Behavior: Research Design and Findings on fect the way practitioners intervene for come, or been protected from, the Criminality, Violence, and Child Abuse,” American negative consequences of their early Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 59 (1989):355–67. child victims. 6. Of the 153 cases of sexual abuse, 40 were processed childhood experiences with abuse. The in juvenile court and 113 in adult criminal court. knowledge from such studies would Future directions 7. In calculating the odds, the researcher controlled have important implications for devel- for the person’s sex, race, and age, as these factors Researchers have recently begun to oping prevention and treatment pro- may affect the likelihood of being arrested for a crime. acknowledge that studies of the impact grams for children who experience 8. See Widom, Cycle of Violence: 3. of childhood abuse (including sexual early childhood victimization. These Cathy Spatz Widom, Ph.D., is abuse) find substantially large groups “protective factors” are being explored professor of criminal justice and of individuals who appear to have ex- as part of the study now being con- psychology at the State University perienced little or no long-term nega- ducted by the present researcher. of New York at Albany. tive consequences. There are a Findings and conclusions of the research re- number of possible explanations, Notes ported here are those of the authors and do not among them inadequate measurement 1. A summary of this research is in Widom, Cathy necessarily reflect the official position or poli- techniques on the part of the research- Spatz, The Cycle of Violence, Research in Brief, cies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Na- ers. It is also possible that some fac- tional Institute of Justice, October 1992. The docu- The National Institute of Justice is a tors or characteristics of the abuse ment can be obtained from the National Criminal component of the Office of Justice incident (less severity, for example), or Justice Reference Service, Box 6000, Rockville, MD Programs, which also includes the Bureau 20849–6000; call 800–851–3420 or order through of Justice Assistance, Bureau of Justice some characteristics of the child (hav- the Internet at [email protected]. Statistics, Office of Juvenile Justice and ing effective coping skills, for ex- 2. A fuller presentation is in Widom, C. S., and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for ample) or the child’s environment Ames, M. A., “Criminal Consequences of Childhood Victims of Crime. NCJ 151525

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