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Childhood Risk Factors for Criminal Behavior during Adulthood

Eduardo Garza

Monica Rodriguez

ENGL 1302

03/23/23

Childhood Risk Factors for Criminal Behavior during Adulthood

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Broadly, over the past few decades, research on childhood development and its

correlation with adult criminal behavior has suggested it is an interplay of individual,

community, and social factors. There is a general consensus that behavior results from a

combination of individual genetic and biological features, beginning during fetal

development and advancing throughout an individual's life. Most children become adults

without involving themselves in violent and criminal behavior, even in the presence of

several risk factors. Even though risk factors may be instrumental in children who need

prevention strategies, they cannot identify the specific children who are susceptible to

involving themselves in criminal behavior (Marono et al., 2020). Nevertheless, it has long

been identified that most adult criminals usually engage in delinquent or antisocial

tendencies. Within the bounds of this paper, it is crucial to narrow on the specific factors in

childhood that may present an individual in engaging in crime during adulthood. This

research paper will discuss the childhood risk factors that may influence adult criminal

behavior.

To begin with, one of the significant childhood risk factors that predicts criminal

behavior during adulthood is adverse childhood experiences. Majorly, adverse childhood

experiences have a significant effect on the lifespan of an individual. While the popular belief

rests on the notion that a child experiencing adversity can lead to substance use as a way of

coping, it should be known that it can also result in the development of violence and criminal

behavior (Young et al., 2016). This is best explained by the concept of the "cycle of

violence." Typically, the cycle of violence describes a phenomenon where children who have

a history of maltreatment result to become committers of violence in adulthood (Bodkin et

al., 2019). Various theories have been used to explain this phenomenon, including social

learning, social control, and general strain theory. Social learning stipulates that children who

are exposed to physical abuse are able to adopt violence as an acceptable means of resolving
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conflict and responding to stress, and thus violence is always the preferred option for them

during adulthood. The social control theory explains that childhood adversity severs social

bonds required for prosocial behavior, increasing the risk for violence and criminality. In the

context of general strain theory, delinquency, and criminal behaviors are usually instigated by

the incapacity to avoid aversive or painful situations such as child neglect and abuse.

In terms of the evidence suggesting a correlation between adverse childhood

experiences and adulthood criminal behavior, various publications and research articles can

be considered. First, Likitha and Mishra (2021) conducted a review examining how a child's

trauma can influence their offending behavior. While the review indicates that childhood

trauma is a significant predictor of adult criminal behavior among prisoners, it also reveals

that various forms of child maltreatment influence the type of criminal behavior. For

instance, a violent crime offender reported having a history of physical abuse, whereas sex

crime offenders indicated having been subjected to sexual abuse during childhood. In a study

carried out by Levenson and Socia (2016), it was determined that high scores of Adverse

Childhood Experience (ACE) were interlinked with a range of arrest outcomes as well as

criminal behavior. The study showed that adult rapists scored higher in ACE, and the critical

predictors for their behavior were sexual abuse, domestic violence, and emotional neglect.

Poverty is another prominent childhood risk factor that may cause criminal behavior

during adulthood. Low socioeconomic status during childhood has long been perceived as a

pointer to consequent criminal behaviors, even though the existing causal models are

doubted. In a research study conducted by Mok and colleagues (2018) in Denmark in a

sample of young adults reported to have cases of violence and self-harm, a relationship was

determined between disparities in family income and the risk of young adults being involved

in violent and antisocial behavior. The reasoning behind this finding was that young adults

whose family income was low did not have adequate resources while growing up, and thus
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the propensity to engage in violence and criminal activity. In another study examining

childhood predictors of violence in adolescents from low-income families, Sitnick and

colleagues (2017) revealed that family income was a significant determinant in distinguishing

adolescents that had violent arrests from those whose families had a higher income level.

Nevertheless, the study recognizes the role played by the interplay of risk factors in that the

findings suggest that while the level of family income was a single factor in discriminating

between the samples, other factors such as oppositional behavior of a child, emotional

regulation, and rejecting parenting during childhood contributed to distinguishing the

participants that were arrested for violence in comparison to those who had never been

arrested. Also, an empirical study by Manhica and other researchers (2021) determined that

childhood exposure to poverty predisposes people to the risk of committing drug-associated

crimes and substance use. Therefore, it is evident that childhood poverty plays a major role in

enabling criminal behaviors and tendencies during adulthood.

Another childhood risk factor that may predispose an individual to engage in crime

during adulthood is exposure or living with a parent or family member with criminal

behavior. The concept of intergenerational transmission of criminal behavior primarily

explains this phenomenon. Which mainly involves amalgamating various mechanisms such

as social learning, possible biogenetic risks, and a criminogenic setting with a propensity for

crime. Within the bounds of this research paper, social learning can be labeled as the most

apparent mechanism for a child to exhibit criminal behavior in later years. This is supported

by Besemer and other authors (2017), who conducted a systematic review of literature

discussing the intergenerational transmission of criminal behavior. The meta-analysis reveals

that exposure to parental crime increases an individual's likelihood of engaging in subsequent

delinquency and crime during adulthood. Another research study that weighs in on parental

crime as a risk factor is by Horan and Widom (2015). While the focus of their study is to
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examine the correlation between exposure to cumulative risk in a child and factors of

psychosocial change, they also focus on how the incarceration of a parent influences child

outcomes. In their results, they determine that the imprisonment of a parent may motivate a

child to engage in similar behavior as their parent during adulthood. Hence, parental crime

during childhood can also influence an individual to engage in criminal behavior during

adulthood.

Based on the risk factors presented above, the majority of research studies provide

that there is a need for interventions and prevention strategies to mitigate the problem.

Multifaceted interventions have been advised to address various risk factors effectively. The

available interventions that may prove practical include parenting skills training that

concurrently emphasizes on minimizing antisocial behavior within the family and

encouraging interactions and behaviors that promote love (Likitha & Mishra, 2021).

Socioeconomic concerns, on the other hand, may be addressed by focusing on skills that may

help resolve financial and employment problems (Manhica et al., 2021). Regarding adverse

childhood experiences, some of the policy recommendations include providing treatment and

support programs for children and families experiencing neglect and abuse, early intervention

strategies, and reformative programs for those identified with criminal behavior. More

importantly, correctional services should also consider the well-being of the incarcerated

population. This may comprise the implementation of rehabilitation programs such as

psychotherapy, group work, vocational training, and enhancement of academic skills.

In summary, the development of criminal behavior is majorly an interplay of

individual and social factors. As discussed in the paper, the incidence of criminal behavior in

adults can be understood by addressing the risk factors an individual faces during childhood.

The first risk factor highlighted is adverse childhood experiences characterized by trauma

resulting from physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. The second risk factor outlined is
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childhood poverty. Under this, a low socioeconomic status mainly determined by the level of

family income, education, and employment may predispose an individual to engage in crime

as a way to acquire resources. Another risk factor discussed is parental crime or incarceration.

Based on the concept of intergenerational transmission of criminal behavior, a child may

learn from their parents or family through social learning to acquire criminal tendencies. In

addition, the research paper has also provided some recommendations that can be

implemented to help deal with the problem.

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References

Besemer, S., Ahmad, S. I., Hinshaw, S. P., & Farrington, D. P. (2017). A systematic review

and meta-analysis of the intergenerational transmission of criminal behavior. Aggression and

violent behavior, 37, 161–178.

Bodkin, C., Pivnick, L., Bondy, S. J., Ziegler, C., Martin, R. E., Jernigan, C., &

Kouyoumdjian, F. (2019). History of Childhood Abuse in Populations Incarcerated in

Canada: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. American journal of public

health, 109(3), e1–e11. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304855

Horan, J. M., & Widom, C. S. (2015). Cumulative childhood risk and adult functioning in

abused and neglected children grown up. Development and Psychopathology, 27(3),

927–941.

Levenson, J. S., & Socia, K. M. (2016). Adverse childhood experiences and arrest patterns in

a sample of sexual offenders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31(10), 1883-1911.

Likitha, S., & Mishra, K. K. (2021). A Review on Relationship of Childhood Trauma with

Offending Behaviour. Society &, 15.

Manhica, H., Straatmann, V. S., Lundin, A., Agardh, E., & Danielsson, A. K. (2021).

Association between poverty exposure during childhood and adolescence, and drug

use disorders and drug‐related crimes later in life. Addiction, 116(7), 1747- 1756.

Marono, A. J., Reid, S., Yaksic, E., & Keatley, D. A. (2020). A behavior sequence analysis of

serial killers' lives: From childhood abuse to methods of murder. Psychiatry, psychology and

law, 27(1), 126–137.
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Mok, P. L., Antonsen, S., Pedersen, C. B., Carr, M. J., Kapur, N., Nazroo, J., & Webb, R. T.

(2018). Family income inequalities and trajectories through childhood and self-harm

and violence in young adults: a population-based, nested case-control study. The Lancet

Public Health, 3(10), e498-e507.

Sitnick, S. L., Shaw, D. S., Weaver, C. M., Shelleby, E. C., Choe, D. E., Reuben, J. D., ... &

Taraban, L. (2017). Early childhood predictors of severe youth violence in low-

income male adolescents. Child development, 88(1), 27–40.

Young, S., Taylor, E., & Gudjonsson, G. (2016). Childhood predictors of criminal offending:

results from a 19-year longitudinal epidemiological study of boys. Journal of

attention disorders, 20(3), 206-213.