La victimisation, la polyvictimisation et la délinquance chez les enfants et les jeunes adultes au Royaume-Uni

Abstract

(Please note this publication is published in French)This paper extends work on the impact and nature of cumulative victimization on children’s, adolescents’ and young adults’ self-reported deviancy. Methods: As part of a representative UK household survey conducted in 2009, exposure to a wide range of victimization events and self-reported delinquency were assessed from 4036 interviews with participants from two age groups, children aged between 11 and 17 and young adults aged 18 to 24 years. Results: Age, gender (being male), and experiencing certain types of other victimizations significantly increased the odds of experiencing lifetime childhood polyvictimization. The impact of victimization on delinquency varied by victimization type, gender and age group. Experiencing sexual victimization in childhood had a strong association with delinquency for females but had less impact on males under the age of 18. Polyvictimization had the greatest impact on delinquency among children aged 11 to 17 but it was not significant for young adult females. Implications: Professionals who work with children and young people need to be alert to the overlapping and cumulative aspects of child victimization and equipped to identify and respond to those vulnerable to being polyvictimized.