Change in Delinquency over Time between Youth with and without Maltreatment: Role of School Attachment

Background: Despite the fact that research has established a link between childhood maltreatment and delinquency, the mechanisms for youth who were maltreated being involved in delinquency and violence and the factors that influence the relationship between child maltreatment and delinquency still remain unclear.  The purpose of the current study was 1) to examine the trajectory of delinquency over time;2) to compare the trajectories between the two groups of youth with and without a maltreatment experience; and 3) to examine the role of school attachment on the trajectory of delinquency between the two groups of youth.  

Method: This study utilized data collected from the Korean Welfare Panel study (KWP), which utilized multi-stage stratified sampling methods based on administrative districts and income levels in Korea.  This study selected subsamples of children’s information collected on three occasions in 2006, 2009, and 2012.  A total of 801 youth participated in the study across the three occasions.  The final sample for the current study is composed of 477 children who completed the surveys on all three occasions.  Delinquency was measured by 8-item questions (α = 0.60).  School attachment was measured with 9-item questions (α = 0.75). Child maltreatment was measured by sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and neglect (α = 0.73).  This study used latent growth curve models to examine changes in school attachment and its impact on changes in delinquency over time.  

Results: Males and females were approximately split in half with the mean age of 10.9 years old (SD = 0.88) ranges 9 to 13 years old at the baseline.  Crossover youth were composed of 73% while non-crossover youth were 27%.  There are significant changes in school attachment (F (1, 456) = 13.61, p<.001) and delinquency over time (F (1, 475) = 13.57, p<.001) as well as significant differences in trajectories of school attachment (F (1, 456) = 22.80, p<.001) and delinquency over time (F (1, 475) = 31.06, p<.001) between the two groups of youth.  Latent growth curve model tests show that for crossover youth, the intercept of school attachment significantly predicts the intercept of delinquency, and the slope of school attachment significantly predicts the slope of delinquency(χ²/df=1.58, CFI=0.95, RMSEA=0.04).  No significant relationship of school attachment with delinquency was found for non-crossover youth in growth curve model χ²/df=0.79, CFI=1.00, RMSEA=0.00).    

Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest that crossover youth are at risk population with respect to delinquency, compared to non-crossover youth.  School attachment significantly affects changes in delinquency over time only for crossover youth.  This finding indicates that when crossover youth have a chance to develop school attachment, school attachment protects them from engaging in delinquency.  Existing studies reported that crossover youth experience difficulty to adjust in school, which leads to poor academic performance, resulting in poor success later in career.  However, once they are able to be successful in school adjustment and develop attachment to school, their involvement in delinquency become minimized.