The relationships among emotional abuse, parent and caregiver instability, and disrupted attachment on juvenile sex offending status

Abstract

The treatment needs of youth who are convicted of sex offenses and the needs of their families, have received little attention in research literature. This study examined the impact of several issues, such as family instability, emotional abuse and parental attachment, on juvenile sex offending status, with a research population of over 500 juvenile sex offenders. The impact of emotional abuse was determined to be significantly correlated with juvenile sex offending status, as was the impact of several variables of parent and caregiver instability. Parental attachment was not found to be a significantly correlated variable to juvenile sex offending status. Implications for social work practice, as well as research and treatment, are included.