2178987 – Short Assignment 1

In this essay I will argue that childhood abuse does lead to criminal behaviour later in life.
This will be done through comparing two research papers which conclude that a cycle of
criminal behaviour exists.

Basto-Pereira et al. (2022) ran a study looking at whether a negative childhood affected the
likelihood of someone participating in criminal behaviour across the world. 3797 young
adults from 10 countries which had “different political, cultural, religious, economic and
geographic regions” (Basto-Pereira et al., 2022, p.5) in order to determine whether a negative
childhood experience caused criminal behaviour across the world. participants were assessed
via the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) questionnaire as well as the Criminal Variety
Index. The ACE questionnaire asks participants whether any ACE’s occurred during their
childhood such as physical, mental or sexual abuse. The CVI asks participants if they
committed any criminal acts within the last year.

The dependent variable in this study was criminal behaviour, specifically in the last 365 days
from the participants being questioned, but also any ACE’s from when they were born to
turning 18. In regards to the independent variable, this was what nation each participant was
from. Through both questionnaires, Basto-Pereira et al. were able to determine that particular
ACE’s correlated with criminal behaviour which included physical abuse, physical neglect,
and sexual abuse across cultures suggesting that is affected by childhood abuse. The
discussion regarding the findings were quite informative as the results supported previous
research into the topic such as Braga et al. (2017) paper on maltreatment and antisocial
behaviour as well as discussing the strengths and limitations of the research such as how even
though the results were significant, they are still vulnerable to confounding variables that may
influence the data.

In similar fashion to the first paper, Boland et al. (2021) proposes that there is a connection
between childhood abuse and criminal behaviour through a maladaptive personality. 180
inmates from a south eastern jail in the US were chosen to participate in the study. In
comparison to the first paper, this paper uses a different set of questionnaires to learn about
childhood abuse as well as personality with the Family Health History Questionnaire (FHHQ)
and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 Brief Form (PID-5-BF) which determine whether a
person was mistreated and how so as well as what their personality is like.

Like the study done by Basto-Pereira et al., this study measures ACE’s through the FHHQ
however it differs by measuring personality characteristics including “Negative Affect,
Detachment, Antagonism, Disinhibition, and Psychoticism”. (Boland et al., 2021, p.256) The
independent variable once again is the participants themselves as the research is focusing on
whether the participants experienced childhood abuse. In regards to the discussion, Boland et
al., were able to support both of their hypotheses, showing that personality was a key factor
in bridging childhood abuse with criminal behaviour.

Overall, it is clear that childhood abuse does lead to criminal behaviour and furthermore that
criminal behaviour from a parent increases the likelihood that a child will repeat the parents
actions therefore continuing the cycle of violence and crime.
 References

Boland, J., Rock, R., Johnson, A. K., Jones, M. A., Salekin, R. T., & Anderson, J. L. (2021).

Pathways to incarceration: An examination of childhood maltreatment and personality

psychopathology in incarcerated adults. Psychology, Crime & Law, 27(3), 253–264.

https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2020.1798426

Basto-Pereira, M., Gouveia-Pereira, M., Pereira, C. R., Barrett, E. L., Lawler, S., Newton, N.,

Stapinski, L., Prior, K., Costa, M. S. A., Ximenes, J. M., Rocha, A. S., Michel, G., Garcia,

M., Rouchy, E., Al Shawi, A., Sarhan, Y., Fulano, C., Magaia, A. J., El-Astal, S., … Sakulku,

J. (2022). The global impact of adverse childhood experiences on criminal behavior: A cross-

continental study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 124, 105459.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105459

Braga, T., Gonçalves, L. C., Basto-Pereira, M., & Maia, Â. (2017). Unraveling the link between

maltreatment and juvenile antisocial behavior: A meta-analysis of prospective longitudinal

studies. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 33, 37–50.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2017.01.006