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Does Child Abuse Cause Crime?

Author

Listed:
  • Janet Currie
  • Erdal Tekin
Abstract
Child maltreatment, which includes both child abuse and child neglect, is a major social problem. This paper focuses on measuring the effects of child maltreatment on crime using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). We focus on crime because it is one of the most socially costly potential outcomes of maltreatment, and because the proposed mechanisms linking maltreatment and crime are relatively well elucidated in the literature. Our work addresses many limitations of the existing literature on child maltreatment. First, we use a large national sample, and investigate different types of abuse in a similar framework. Second, we pay careful attention to identifying the causal impact of abuse, by using a variety of statistical methods that make differing assumptions. These methods include: Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), propensity score matching estimators, and twin fixed effects. Finally, we examine the extent to which the effects of maltreatment vary with socio-economic status (SES), gender, and the severity of the maltreatment. We find that maltreatment approximately doubles the probability of engaging in many types of crime. Low SES children are both more likely to be mistreated and suffer more damaging effects. Boys are at greater risk than girls, at least in terms of increased propensity to commit crime. Sexual abuse appears to have the largest negative effects, perhaps justifying the emphasis on this type of abuse in the literature. Finally, the probability of engaging in crime increases with the experience of multiple forms of maltreatment as well as the experience of Child Protective Services (CPS) investigation.

Suggested Citation

  • Janet Currie & Erdal Tekin, 2006. "Does Child Abuse Cause Crime?," NBER Working Papers 12171, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:12171
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Misikhina, Svetlana, "undated". "Impact of Social Policy on the Welfare of Children in OECD Countries and Russia," Published Papers nvg138, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
    2. Dinand Webbink & Sunčica Vujić & Pierre Koning & Nicholas G. Martin, 2012. "The Effect Of Childhood Conduct Disorder On Human Capital," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(8), pages 928-945, August.
    3. Almond, Douglas & Currie, Janet, 2011. "Human Capital Development before Age Five," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 15, pages 1315-1486, Elsevier.
    4. Daniel I. Rees & Joseph J. Sabia, 2013. "Forced Intercourse, Mental Health, and Human Capital," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 80(2), pages 324-344, October.
    5. Alvaro Morales & Prakarsh Singh, 2016. "“Face the bullet, spare the rod?” Evidence from the aftermath of the Shining Path Insurgency," HiCN Working Papers 191 updated, Households in Conflict Network.
    6. Marco Francesconi & Stephen Jenkins & Thomas Siedler, 2010. "Childhood family structure and schooling outcomes: evidence for Germany," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 23(3), pages 1073-1103, June.
    7. Anna Aizer, 2007. "Neighborhood Violence and Urban Youth," NBER Chapters, in: The Problems of Disadvantaged Youth: An Economic Perspective, pages 275-307, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Erdal Tekin & Sara Markowitz, 2008. "The Relationship between Suicidal Behavior and Productive Activities of Young Adults," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 75(2), pages 300-331, August.
    9. Fernanda Marquez-Padilla & Francisco Perez-Arce & Carlos Rodriguez-Castelan, 2015. "The (Non-) Effect of Violence on Education Evidence from the "War on Drugs" in Mexico," Working Papers WR-1082, RAND Corporation.
    10. Alvaro Morales & Prakarsh Singh, 2014. "The Effect of Civil Conflict on Child Abuse: Evidence from Peru," HiCN Working Papers 187, Households in Conflict Network.
    11. Yoshito Takasaki, 2011. "Fraud and Poverty: Exploring Ex Ante Victim Data," Tsukuba Economics Working Papers 2011-002, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba.
    12. Ciro Biderman & JoãoMP DeMello & Alexandre Schneider, 2010. "Dry Laws and Homicides: Evidence from the São Paulo Metropolitan Area," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(543), pages 157-182, March.
    13. Fang, Xiangming & Tarui, Nori, 2015. "Child Maltreatment, Family Characteristics, and Educational Attainment: Evidence from Add Health Data," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205319, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Sofia Amaral & Victoria Endl-Geyer & Helmut Rainer, 2020. "Familiäre Gewalt und die Covid-19-Pandemie: Ein Überblick über die erwarteten Auswirkungen und mögliche Auswege," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 73(07), pages 52-56, July.
    15. Fletcher, Jason M., 2009. "Childhood mistreatment and adolescent and young adult depression," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(5), pages 799-806, March.
    16. Castillo, Marco, 2020. "Negative Childhood Experiences and Risk Aversion: Evidence from Children Exposed to Domestic Violence," IZA Discussion Papers 13320, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Claire V. Crooks & Jennifer Zwicker & Lana Wells & Ray Hughes & Amanda Langlois & J.C. Herb Emery, 2017. "Estimating Costs and Benefits Associated with Evidence-Based Violence Prevention: Four Case Studies Based on the Fourth R Program," SPP Research Papers, The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, vol. 10(10), May.
    18. Joseph J. Doyle Jr., 2008. "Child Protection and Adult Crime: Using Investigator Assignment to Estimate Causal Effects of Foster Care," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(4), pages 746-770, August.
    19. Prakarsh Singh & Alvaro Morales, 2015. "The Effect of Civil Conflict on Child Abuse: Evidence from Peru," NCID Working Papers 04/2015, Navarra Center for International Development, University of Navarra.
    20. Everhart Newman, Jan L. & Falligant, John M. & Thompson, Kelli R. & Gomez, Michael D. & Burkhart, Barry R., 2018. "Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy with adolescents with illegal sexual behavior in a secure residential treatment facility," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 431-438.
    21. White, Jordan & Evans, Phillipa & Katz, Ilan, 2024. "Children dually involved with statutory child protection and juvenile justice in Australia: A developmental cascade framework," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • K4 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior

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