Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-2009

Publication Title

Journal of Divorce & Remarriage

Keywords

divorce; abused children; crime; delinquent behavior; regression analysis; substance abuse; single parents; juvenile justice administration; delinquency; family; maltreatment

Abstract

Family structure and maltreatment (abuse and neglect) have been identified as predictors of youth delinquency, although the relationship is not clear. This article furthers this research by studying a sample of maltreated children (n = 250) in one Midwest county, and through a multiple regression analysis of many risk factors, the study identified only one significant delinquency variable that made delinquency less likely—children who experience parental divorce. Some established risk factors were surprisingly found not to be predictive of later delinquency: minority race, one-parent families, youth substance abuse, recurrent maltreatment, and youth behind in academic grade level. Implications for the family studies and juvenile justice fields are set forth

Publication Status

1

DOI

10.1080/10502550902766498

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