Gender-specific research on the relationship between childhood abuse and delinquency in females is an important emerging topic in criminology. Feminist criminologists have pointed toward childhood abuse as a key turning point in young girls' lives that leads toward delinquency but have yet to empirically address how this relationship varies along racial lines. This study uses prospective cohort data to test for interactions among child abuse, race, and violent criminal arrest in females. In doing so, it addresses the differences in the effects of abuse across gender and across race in females. Results provide some support for feminist literature finding that although all abused children were more likely to be later arrested for a violent offense, the effects were significantly stronger for abused girls than boys. Still, race and gender interactions reveal no racial differences in the effects of abuse on females.
Acoca, L. (1998). Outside/inside: The violation of American girls at home, on the streets, and in the juvenile justice system. Crime & Delinquency, 44, 561-589.
2.
Arnold, R. (1990). Women of color: Process of victimization and criminalization of Black women. Social Forces, 17, 153-166.
3.
Barnet, D., Manly, J.T., & Cicchetti, D. (1993). Defining child maltreatment: The interface between policy and research. In D. Cicchetti & S. L. Toth (Eds.), Child abuse, child development, and social policy (pp. 75-116). Norwood, NJ : Ablex.
4.
Baskin, D., & Sommers, I. (1998). Casualties of community disorder: Women's careers in violent crime. Boulder, CO: Westview.
5.
Belknap, J. (1996). The invisible woman: Gender, crime, and justice . Boston: Wadsworth.
6.
Belknap, J., & Holsinger, K. (1998). An overview of delinquent girls: How theory and practice have failed the need for innovative changes. In R. Zaplin (Ed.), Female offenders: Critical perspectives and effective interventions (pp. 5-29). Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen.
7.
Belknap, J., & Holsinger, K. (2006). The gendered nature of risk factors for delinquency. FeministCriminology, 1, 48-71.
8.
Browne, A., Miller, B., & Maguin, E. (1999). Prevalence and severity of lifetime physical and sexual victimization among incarcerated women. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 22, 301-322.
9.
Burgess-Proctor, A. (2006). Intersections of race, class, gender, and crime: Future directions for feminist criminology. FeministCriminology , 1, 27-47.
10.
Chandy, J., Bloom, R., & Resnick, M. (1996). Gender specific outcomes of sexually abused adolescents . Child Abuse & Neglect, 20, 1219-1231.
11.
Chesney-Lind, M., & Pasko, L. (2004). The female offender: Girls, women, and crime (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
12.
Chesney-Lind, M., & Sheldon, R. (1992). Girls, delinquency, and juvenile justice. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole .
13.
Daley, K., & Chesney-Lind, M. (1988). Feminism and criminology . Justice Quarterly, 5, 497-535.
14.
Dembo, R., Williams, L., Wothke, W., Schmeidler, J., & Brown, C.H. (1992). The role of family factors, physical abuse and sexual victimization experiences in high-risk youth's alcohol and other drug use and delinquency: A longitudinal model. Violence and Victims , 7, 245-266.
15.
English, D., Widom, C., & Brandford, C. (2001). Childhood victimization and delinquency, adult criminality, and violent criminal behavior: A replication and extension (NCJ 192291). Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
16.
Farrington, D. (1989). Self-reported and official offending from adolescence to adulthood. Cross-national research in self-reported crime and delinquency. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer.
17.
Gray, E. (1998). The link between child abuse and juvenile delinquency: What we know and recommendations for policy research. In G. Hotaling (Ed.), Family abuse and its consequences (pp. 109-125). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
18.
Hanushek, E.A., & Jackson, J.E. (1977). Statistical methods for the social sciences. New York: Academic Press.
19.
Harlow, C. (1999). Prior abuse reported by inmates and probationers: Selected findings (NCJ 172879). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics.
20.
Herrera, V., & McCloskey, L. (2003). Sexual abuse, family violence, and female delinquency: Findings from a longitudinal study. Violence & Victims , 18, 319-334.
21.
Hindelang, M., Hirschi, T., & Weis, J. (1981). Measuring delinquency. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
22.
Hubbard, D., & Pratt, T. (2002). A meta-analysis of the predictors of delinquency among girls. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 34, 1-13.
23.
Huizinga, D., & Elliot, D. (1986). Re-assessing the reliability and validity of self-report delinquency measures. Journal of QuantitativeCriminology , 2, 293-327.
24.
Ireland, T., Smith, C., & Thornberry, T. (2002). Developmental issues in the impact of child maltreatment on later delinquency and drug use. Criminology, 40, 359-397.
25.
Kakar, S. (1996). Child abuse & delinquency. New York: University Press of America.
26.
Kaufman, J., & Widom, C. (1999). Childhood victimization, running away, and delinquency . Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency, 36, 247-370.
27.
Kilpatric, D., Saunders, B., & Smith, D. (2003). Youth victimization: Prevalence and implications (NCJ 194972). Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
28.
Kurtz, P., Kurtz, G., & Jarvis, S. (1991). Problems of maltreated runaway youth. Adolescence, 26, 543-555.
29.
Lemmon, J. (1999). How child maltreatment affects dimensions of juvenile delinquency in a cohort of low-income urban youths. Justice Quarterly, 16, 357-376.
30.
Piquero, A., MacDonald, J., Dorbin, A., Daigle, L., & Cullen, F. (2005). Self-control, violent offending, and homicide victimization: Assessing the general theory of crime. Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency, 21, 55-69.
31.
Potter, H. (2006). An argument for Black feminist criminology: Understanding African American women's experiences with intimate partner abuse using an integrated approach. FeministCriminology, 1, 106-124.
32.
Shaffer, J., & Ruback, B. (2002). Violent victimization as a risk factor for violent offending among juveniles. Juvenile justice bulletin (NCJ 195737). Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency .
33.
Siegel, J., & Williams, L. (2003). The relationship between child sexual abuse, female delinquency and crime: A prospective study. Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency, 40, 71-94.
34.
Silbert, M., & Pines, A. (1981). Sexual child abuse as an antecedent to prostitution . Child Abuse & Neglect, 5, 407-411.
35.
Simmons, R. (2002). Odd girl out: The hidden culture of aggression in girls. New York: Harcourt. Smith, C., & Thornberry, T. (1995). The relationship between childhood maltreatment and adolescent involvement in delinquency. Criminology, 33, 451-473.
36.
Walker, S., Spohn, C., & Delone, M. (2004). The color of justice (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth .
37.
Widom, C., & Ames, A. (1995). Criminal consequences of childhood sexual victimization . Child Abuse & Neglect, 18, 303-318.
38.
Widom, C., & Maxfield, M. (2001). An update on the cycle of violence (NCJ 184894) . Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
39.
Zingraff, M., Leiter, J., Myers, K., & Johnson, M. (1993). Child maltreatment and youthful problem behavior . Criminology, 31, 173-202.
