Clarifying the Link Between Childhood Abuse History and Psychopathic Traits in Adult Criminal Offenders

Childhood abuse is a risk factor for the development of externalizing characteristics and disorders, including antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy. However, the precise relationships between particular types of childhood maltreatment and subsequent antisocial and psychopathic traits remain unclear. 

Using a large sample of incarcerated adult male criminal offenders (n = 183), the current study confirmed that:

• severity of overall childhood maltreatment was linked to severity of both psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder in adulthood. 
• Moreover, this relationship was particularly strong for physical abuse and the antisocial facet of psychopathy. 
• Sexual abuse history was uniquely related to juvenile conduct disorder severity, rather than adult psychopathy or antisocial behaviors. 
• Additionally, there was a significantly stronger relationship between childhood maltreatment and juvenile conduct disorder than between childhood maltreatment and ASPD or psychopathy. 

These findings bolster and clarify the link between childhood maltreatment and antisocial behavior later in life. 

Via: http://ht.ly/SB8aM   Purchase full article at: http://goo.gl/3lyvcs

By:  Dargis M, Newman J, Koenigs M.

More at:  https://twitter.com/hiv_insight

Does Child Maltreatment Predict Adult Crime? Reexamining the Question in a Prospective Study of Gender Differences, Education, and Marital Status

Bivariate analyses of adult crime and child maltreatment showed that individuals who had been maltreated as children, according to child welfare reports, subsequently committed more crime than others who had not been maltreated. Analyses of crimes by category-property, person, and society-provided further evidence of a link between child maltreatment and crime at the bivariate level. 

Tests of gender differences showed that crime generally is more prevalent among males, although females with a history of maltreatment were more likely than those in a no-maltreatment (comparison) group to report having had some prior involvement in crime. 

Surprisingly, multivariate analyses controlling for childhood socioeconomic status, gender, minority racial status, marital status, and education level showed that, with one exception (crimes against society), the significant association between child maltreatment and crime observed in bivariate tests was not maintained. 

Via:  http://ht.ly/RXPnp

By: Jung H1, Herrenkohl TI2, Klika JB3, Lee JO4, Brown EC5.

• 1University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA hzjung@uw.edu.
• 2University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
• 3University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA.
• 4University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
• 5University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.

Life Course Associations between Victimization & Aggression: Distinctive & Cumulative Contributions

Below:  Path analysis of lifetime victimization and aggression. ** p ≤ 0.01. R2 values: adolescent victimization = 0.44, adulthood victimization = 0.47, adolescent aggression = 0.56, adulthood aggression = 0.30 (all significant at p < 0.01). Model controls for effects of sex and race/ethnicity.

The connections between early maltreatment and later aggression are well established in the literature, however gaps remain in our understanding of developmental processes. This study investigates the cascading life course linkages between victimization experiences from childhood through early adulthood and later aggressive behavior. The diverse, at-risk sample is of particular importance to child and adolescent specialists, as it represents highly vulnerable youth accessible through conventional school settings. In addition to direct pathways from proximal life periods, path analysis revealed significant indirect mediated pathways through which earlier life victimization contributes to aggressive behaviors in later life periods as well as revictimization. 

Multivariate regressions support theorized cumulative effects of multi-form victimization as well as distinct contributions of victimization domains (emotional, witnessing, physical, property, and sexual) in explaining aggressive behavior. Consistent with theorizing about the developmental impact of early maltreatment, results bolster the importance of interrupting pathways from victimization to revictimization and later aggression. Findings are evaluated in light of implications for early identification and prevention programming.

Read more at:  http://ht.ly/RXxDR

By: Patricia Logan-Greene, Paula S. Nurius, Carole Hooven, and Elaine Adams Thompson

University at Buffalo;

Child Maltreatment among Boy & Girl Probationers: Does Type of Maltreatment Make a Difference in Offending Behavior & Psychosocial Problems?

This study examined differences in offending behavior and psychosocial problems between juvenile offenders who have been sexually abused (n=231), physically abused (n=1,568), neglected (n=1,555), exposed to multiple forms of maltreatment (n=1,767), and non-victims (n=8,492). In addition, the moderating effect of gender in the association between type of maltreatment and offending behavior/psychosocial problems was examined. 

Results showed that violent offenses were more common in victims of physical abuse and victims of multiple forms of abuse than in non-victims, both in boys and girls. In boys, sexual offenses were far more common in victims of sexual abuse than in victims of other or multiple forms of maltreatment or in non-victims. In girls, no group differences were found in sexual offending behavior. For both boys and girls, externalizing problems were relatively common in victims of physical abuse and neglect whereas internalizing problems were relatively common in victims of sexual abuse. 

In victims of multiple forms of maltreatment, both internalizing and externalizing problems were relatively common. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.

Via: http://ht.ly/RRnO6

By: van der Put CE1, Lanctôt N2, de Ruiter C3, van Vugt E1.

• 1Department of Forensic Child and Youth Care Sciences, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
• 2Department of Psychoeducation, University of Sherbrooke, Canada.
• 3Department of Forensic Psychology Section, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.

More at:  http://twitter.com/Prison_Health

Gendered Pathways: Violent Childhood Maltreatment, Sex Exchange, and Drug Use

Below:  Parameter Estimates for Direct-Indirect Effects Model in Women and Men

Note: Unstandardized regression weights (and standard errors) for women are left of the diagonal and in bold; estimates for men are right of the diagonal and in regular font. Correlations between the independent variables are not shown, but are similar to those reported in Table 1.

First, structural equation modeling revealed that childhood sexual and physical abuse were related to increased drug engagement in women and men, respectively, above the influence of early childhood contextual variables (e.g., neighborhood, family) and age. Second, sexual abuse was related to sex exchange, which in turn was related to drug use symptoms in women but not men.

These data provide empirical support for distinct trauma-related pathways to drug use problems in men and women, which has implications for gendered explanations and prevention approaches.

Via:   http://ht.ly/QngMt  HT @USouthFlorida