The link between child maltreatment and juvenile delinquency has been repeatedly documented. Empirical prospective research delineating the factors responsible for this relationship (i.e., mediators), however, is relatively sparse. Because many of the outcomes of child maltreatment (e.g., sexualized behaviors, loneliness) are risk factors for juvenile delinquency, this relationship could likely be mediated by these variables.

The present investigations utilized samples of children from the LONGSCAN Consortium, a prospective multi-site examination of the effects of early childhood maltreatment, to examine whether sexualized behaviors and loneliness partially mediate the effect of maltreatment timing and type on delinquent behaviors. Study 1 utilized a single-site sample of children who had been removed from their homes prior to age 4 for substantiated maltreatment to test the mediational roles of sexualized behaviors (N=202) and loneliness (N=152). Study 2 utilized a multi-site sample of children deemed high-risk for experiencing maltreatment to investigate the mediational role of sexualized behaviors (N=804).

The hypothesized mediation models were tested using structural equation modeling procedures in EQS 6.1. The results suggested that maltreatment timing and type were not related to delinquency in the early maltreated sample (Study 1). However, in the multi-site sample of children at risk for maltreatment (Study 2), not only was maltreatment related to delinquency (β = .308; p < .05), but sexualized behaviors partially mediated the relationship between maltreatment and delinquency (β = .298; p < .05). Children with more maltreatment reports before age 8 had increased sexualized behaviors at age 8, which in turn predicted greater delinquent behaviors at age 12. As hypothesized, children with late reports of maltreatment (reports between ages 4 and 8), particularly those with late physical and/or emotional abuse reports, exhibited greater sexualized behaviors, which resulted in more subsequent delinquent behaviors, when compared to children without maltreatment reports or to those children with only early maltreatment reports (reports before age 4).

The clinical implications of the present investigations are many. Abused and neglected children must have solid coping strategies in order to buffer the numerous associated negative effects, such as juvenile delinquency. Sexualized behaviors and loneliness likely represent two indicators of faulty coping strategies, both of which were found to predict delinquent behaviors in the current investigations. By better conceptualizing the maltreatment-related predictors of sexualized behaviors and loneliness, interventions can be specifically tailored for maltreated children before they become a part of the juvenile justice system.