IS CHILD MALTREATMENT A LEADING CAUSE OF DELINQUENCY

This article explores the assumption that child maltreatment is a majo r cause of juvenile delinquency. Although this relationship is widely accepted as fact, the research that exists in the literature so far is inconclusive at best, and at worst, deeply flawed. For too long, juve nile justice resources have been channeled into the apprehension and p rocessing of youthful offenders, while relatively few dollars have gon e into the research necessary to formulate a coherent strategy for sol ving the juvenile crime problem. Without funding for this much-needed research, the money we do spend on the control and prevention of juven ile crime is blindly spent.