Child abuse, self-control, and delinquency: A general strain perspective

Highlights

• GST argues that strains should partly shape delinquency by affecting self-control.

• Results support this proposition, with child abuse affecting self-control.

• Self-control partially mediates the effects of child abuse on delinquency.

Abstract

Purpose

This study examined the independent effects of child abuse on self-control and delinquency and explored whether self-control mediates the child abuse-delinquency relationship.

Methods

We employed path modeling in Mplus to examine the relationship between child abuse, self-control, and delinquency using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health).

Results

Net of theoretically important controls, child abuse has direct and indirect effects on delinquency, and the relationship is partially explained by low self-control.

Conclusions

Child abuse has an independent influence on levels of self-control, supporting a proposition made by general strain theory, and self-control partially mediates the oft-observed relationship between child abuse and delinquency.

Introduction

Research consistently demonstrates that low self-control is an important cause of both offending (see Pratt & Cullen, 2000) and victimization (see Pratt, Turanovic, Fox, & Wright, 2014). In contrast, few studies have examined the impact of victimization on self-control, and the limited results are mixed (Agnew et al., 2011, Monahan et al., 2015, Sullivan et al., 2007). Agnew, 1992, Agnew, 2006 general strain theory (GST) predicts, in part, that low self-control mediates the relationship between victimization and delinquency. GST highlights child abuse, in particular, as a severe form of strain likely to lead to delinquency (Agnew, 2001, Agnew, 2013). Despite this fact, no research has examined the extent to which these GST predictions regarding the nature of the relationship between victimization, self-control, and delinquency are observed within the context of child abuse victimization. Here, we use a GST framework to examine how child abuse impacts self-control and whether self-control mediates the relationship between child abuse and adolescent delinquency. We test these predictions using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). We begin with a review of GST and the relevant literature.