Child abuse, self-control, and delinquency: A general strain perspective

This study examined the independent effects of child abuse on self-control and delinquency and explored whether self-control mediates the child abuse-delinquency relationship. We employed path modeling in Mplus to examine the relationship between child abuse, self-control, and delinquency using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Net of theoretically important controls, child abuse has direct and indirect effects on delinquency, and the relationship is partially explained by low self-control. Child abuse has an independent influence on levels of self-control, supporting a proposition made by general strain theory, and self-control partially mediates the oft-observed relationship between child abuse and delinquency.