Exploring the Impact of Child Maltreatment and Interparental Violence on Violent Delinquency in an International Sample

Young people are exposed to violence regularly in their homes, schools, and communities. Such exposure can cause them significant physical, mental, and emotional harm, with long-term effects lasting well into adulthood. Of particular concern is violence within the family, where children are victimized by their parents. Research shows that direct and indirect childhood exposure to violence and maltreatment within the family increases the risk of subsequent violent delinquent behavior. Social learning theory and attachment theory place parenting at the center of the “cycle of violence,” and “intergenerational transmission of violence” claims that experiencing violence in childhood will lead to the perpetration of violence in adolescence. Although much research has been done, these assertions have never been tested on a large international sample of young people. The current article fills this void by analyzing surveys completed by 57,892 students who were 12 to 16 years old from 25 countries as part of the ...