LAUSR

Some criminologists have focused on understanding the role of childhood experiences on an individual’s likelihood of offending during adulthood. Although research has consistently linked these two phenomena, little is known about the extent to which childhood victimization influences later criminal behavior. The current study analyzed self-reported data to examine the abused–abuser relationship in the context of intimate relationships. Specifically, the study examined the direct effects of victimization across three types of offending, and whether or not individual characteristics in such a relationship were significant mediators. Using a multivariate OLS regression, a significant relationship was observed between childhood victimization and adulthood offending. Likewise, results revealed that individual characteristics significantly mediated this relationship. Policy implications of these observations are discussed.