The reproduction of child maltreatment: An examination of adolescent problem behavior, substance use, and precocious transitions in the link between victimization and perpetration
Date
2019
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Development and psychopathology
Abstract
Growing evidence suggests that maltreatment is reproduced across generations as victims of
maltreatment are at an increased risk for maltreatment perpetration. Unfortunately, little
information about mediating pathways exists to provide an explanation for why maltreatment
begets maltreatment. We use the number of types of maltreatment experienced to predict later
maltreatment perpetration and then examine two developmental pathways that may serve as
bridges between maltreatment victimization and perpetration: adolescent problem behaviors and
precocious transitions to adulthood. With prospective, longitudinal data from the Rochester Youth
Development Study, we assess the relevance of these pathways for the number of maltreatment
experiences as well as the number of maltreatment victimization experiences by developmental
period (i.e., childhood and adolescence). Our results demonstrate a significant relationship
between maltreatment victimization and maltreatment perpetration. Adolescent delinquency and
two precocious transitions, dropping out of school and independent living, as well as the
accumulation of precocious transitions and problem behaviors, serve as mediators of this
intergenerational relationship. Furthermore, the relationship between the number of types of
maltreatment and subsequent perpetration is primarily driven by experiences of maltreatment
during adolescence. We discuss the implications of these results and set an agenda for the
development of programs and policies to interrupt the cycle of maltreatment
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Keywords
generational abuse, child abuse, revictimization, research, perpetrators, child maltreatment
Citation
Augustyn, M. B., Thornberry, T. P., & Henry, K. L. (2019). The reproduction of child maltreatment: An examination of adolescent problem behavior, substance use, and precocious transitions in the link between victimization and perpetration. Development and psychopathology, 31(1), 53-71.