Juvenile recidivism is a serious public health concern. Using statewide administrative data, this study examined the independent predictive value of childhood maltreatment on repeat offending and compared risk factors for recidivism between 698 first-time juvenile offenders with maltreatment and their propensity score matched sample of 698 without maltreatment. For 3 years, 65.2% of maltreated offenders and 61.5% of their matched sample recidivated after their initial offense. The effect of childhood maltreatment on recidivism remained statistically significant beyond the inclusion of control variables. In both groups, being a youth of color and having a diagnosed emotional/behavioral disability increased risk for recidivism. Additional risk factors included being a male for maltreated offenders and out-of-school suspension, entry into the juvenile justice system at younger ages, and out-of-home placement only after their first offense or continuing placement for their matched sample without maltreatment. Preventive interventions must be responsive to such different risks.
BaglivioM. T.JackowskiK.GreenwaldM. A.HowellJ. C. (2014). Serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders: A statewide analysis of prevalence and prediction of subsequent recidivism using risk and protective factors. Criminology & Public Policy, 13(1), 83–116.
3.
BaglivioM. T.WolffK. T.PiqueroA. R.BilchikS.JackowskiK.GreenwaldM. A.EppsN. (2016). Maltreatment, child welfare, and recidivism in a sample of deep-end crossover youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(4), 625–654.
4.
BaglivioM. T.WolffK. T.PiqueroA. R.EppsN. (2015). The relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and juvenile offending trajectories in a juvenile offender sample. Journal of Criminal Justice, 43(3), 229–241.
5.
BarrettD. E.KatsiyannisA.ZhangD.ZhangD. (2014). Delinquency and recidivism: A multicohort, matched-control study of the role of early adverse experiences, mental health problems, and disabilities. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 22(1), 3–15.
6.
BaskinD. R.SommersI. (2011). Child maltreatment, placement strategies, and delinquency. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 36(2), 106–119.
7.
BellisM. A.LoweyH.LeckenbyN.HughesK.HarrisonD. (2014). Adverse childhood experiences: Retrospective study to determine their impact on adult health behaviours and health outcomes in a UK population. Journal of Public Health, 36(1), 81–91.
8.
ChiuY. L.RyanJ. P.HerzD. C. (2011). Allegations of maltreatment and delinquency: Does risk of juvenile arrest vary substantiation status?Children and Youth Services Review, 33(6), 855–860.
9.
ChoM.HaightW.ChoiW. S.HongS.PiescherK. (2019). A prospective, longitudinal study of risk factors for early onset of delinquency among maltreated youth. Children and Youth Services Review, 102, 222–230.
10.
CicchettiD.TothS. L. (2015). Multilevel developmental perspectives on child maltreatment. Development and Psychopathology, 27(4pt. 2), 1385–1386.
11.
ColemanH. C.JensonJ. M. (2000). A longitudinal investigation of delinquency among abused and behavior problem youth following participation in a family preservation program. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 31(1–2), 143–162.
12.
CottleC. C.LeeR. J.HeilbrunK. (2001). The prediction of criminal recidivism in juveniles: A meta-analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 28(3), 367–394.
13.
CraigJ. M.BaglivioM. T.WolffK. T.PiqueroA. R.EppsN. (2017). Do social bonds buffer the impact of adverse childhood experiences on reoffending?Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 15(1), 3–20.
14.
DeGueS.Spatz WidomC. (2009). Does out-of-home placement mediate the relationship between child maltreatment and adult criminality?Child Maltreatment, 14(4), 344–355.
FelittiV. J.AndaR. F.NordenbergD.WilliamsonD. F.SpitzA. M.EdwardsV.MarksJ. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245–258.
17.
FoxB. H.PerezN.CassE.BaglivioM. T.EppsN. (2015). Trauma changes everything: Examining the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and serious, violent and chronic juvenile offenders. Child Abuse & Neglect, 46, 163–173.
18.
GoodkindS.ShookJ.KolivoskiK.PohligR.LittleA.KimK. (2020). From child welfare to jail: Mediating effects of juvenile justice placement and other system involvement. Child Maltreatment, 25(4), 410–421.
19.
HaightW.BidwellL. N.ChoiW. S.ChoM. (2016). An evaluation of the Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM): Recidivism outcomes for maltreated youth involved in the juvenile justice system. Children and Youth Services Review, 65, 78–85.
20.
HaightW. L.BidwellL. N.MarshallJ. M.KhatiwodaP. (2014). Implementing the Crossover Youth Practice Model in diverse contexts: Child welfare and juvenile justice professionals’ experiences of multisystem collaborations. Children and Youth Services Review, 39, 91–100.
21.
HalembaG.SiegelG. C.LordR. D.ZawackiS. (2004). Arizona dual jurisdiction study. National Center for Juvenile Justice.
22.
HarrisP. W.LockwoodB.MengersL. (2009). A CJCA white paper: Defining and measuring recidivism. Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators.
23.
HerzD. C.RyanJ. P. (2008). Exploring the characteristics and outcomes of 241.1 youth crossing over from dependency to delinquency in Los Angeles County. Research Update, 1–13. Center for Families, Children & the Courts, San Francisco, CA.
24.
HerzD. C.RyanJ. P.BilchikS. (2010). Challenges facing crossover youth: An examination of juvenile-justice decision making and recidivism. Family Court Review, 48(2), 305–321.
HirschR. A.DierkhisingC. B.HerzD. C. (2018). Educational risk, recidivism, and service access among youth involved in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Children and Youth Services Review, 85, 72–80.
27.
HillisS. D.AndaR. F.DubeS. R.FelittiV. J.MarchbanksP. A.MarksJ. S. (2004). The association between adverse childhood experiences and adolescent pregnancy, long-term psychosocial consequences, and fetal death. Pediatrics, 113(2), 320–327.
HuangH.RyanJ. P.SappletonA.ChiuY. L. (2015). Crossover youth post arrest: Placement status and recidivism. Children and Youth Services Review, 57, 193–200.
30.
KruttschnittC. (2016). The politics, and place, of gender in research on crime. Criminology, 54(1), 8–29.
31.
LeeS. Y.VillagranaM. (2015). Differences in risk and protective factors between crossover and non-crossover youth in juvenile justice. Children and Youth Services Review, 58, 18–27.
32.
LemmonJ. H. (2006). The effects of maltreatment recurrence and child welfare services on dimensions of delinquency. Criminal Justice Review, 31(1), 5–32.
33.
LibermanA. M.KirkD. S.KimK. (2014). Labeling effects of first juvenile arrests: Secondary deviance and secondary sanctioning. Criminology, 52(3), 345–370.
34.
May-ChahalC. (2006). Gender and child maltreatment: The evidence base. Social Work & Society, 4(1), 53–68.
MoffittT. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100(4), 674–701.
37.
NelsonK. E. (1990). Family-based services for juvenile offenders. Children and Youth Services Review, 12(3), 193–212.
38.
PiqueroA. R.ChungH. L. (2001). On the relationships between gender, early onset, and the seriousness of offending. Journal of Criminal Justice, 29(3), 189–206.
39.
RosenbaumP. R.RubinD. B. (1985). Constructing a control group using multivariate matched sampling methods that incorporate the propensity score. The American Statistician, 39(1), 33–38.
40.
RyanJ. P.AbramsL. S.HuangH. (2014). First-time violent juvenile offenders: Probation, placement, and recidivism. Social Work Research, 38(1), 7–18.
41.
RyanJ. P.HernandezP. M.HerzD. (2007). Developmental trajectories of offending for male adolescents leaving foster care. Social Work Research, 31(2), 83–93.
42.
RyanJ. P.HerzD.HernandezP. M.MarshallJ. M. (2007). Maltreatment and delinquency: Investigating child welfare bias in juvenile justice processing. Children and Youth Services Review, 29(8), 1035–1050.
43.
RyanJ. P.MarshallJ. M.HerzD.HernandezP. M. (2008). Juvenile delinquency in child welfare: Investigating group home effects. Children and Youth Services Review, 30(9), 1088–1099.
44.
RyanJ. P.PerronB. E.HuangH. (2016). Child welfare and the transition to adulthood: Investigating placement status and subsequent arrests. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(1), 172–182.
45.
RyanJ. P.TestaM. F. (2005). Child maltreatment and juvenile delinquency: Investigating the role of placement and placement instability. Children and Youth Services Review, 27(3), 227–249.
46.
RyanJ. P.TestaM. F.ZhaiF. (2008). African American males in foster care and the risk of delinquency: The value of social bonds and permanence. Child Welfare, 87(1), 115.
47.
RyanJ. P.WilliamsA. B.CourtneyM. E. (2013). Adolescent neglect, juvenile delinquency and the risk of recidivism. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(3), 454–465.
48.
ShapiroC. J.SmithB. H.MaloneP. S.CollaroA. L. (2010). Natural experiment in deviant peer exposure and youth recidivism. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 39(2), 242–251.
49.
SnyderS. M.SmithR. E. (2015). Do youth with substantiated child maltreatment investigations have distinct patterns of delinquent behaviors?Children and Youth Services Review, 58, 82–89.
TopitzesJ.MerskyJ. P.ReynoldsA. J. (2011). Child maltreatment and offending behavior: Gender-specific effects and pathways. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 38(5), 492–510.
54.
VaughnM. G.HowardM. O. (2005). The construct of psychopathy and its potential contribution to the study of serious, violent, and chronic youth offending. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 3(3), 235–252.
55.
VillagranaM. (2010). Mental health services for children and youth in the child welfare system: A focus on caregivers as gatekeepers. Children and Youth Services Review, 32(5), 691–697.
56.
WidomC. S.SchuckA. M.WhiteH. R. (2006). An examination of pathways from childhood victimization to violence: The role of early aggression and problematic alcohol use. Violence and Victims, 21(6), 675–690.
57.
WiebushR. G.FreitagR.BairdC. (2001). Preventing delinquency through improved child protection services. US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
58.
WolffK. T.BaglivioM. T.PiqueroA. R. (2017). The relationship between adverse childhood experiences and recidivism in a sample of juvenile offenders in community-based treatment. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 61(11), 1210–1242.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
