The cycle of violence: examining the impact of maltreatment early in life on adult offending.

Over the last two decades, considerable scholarly attention has been directed toward explaining the "cycle of violence"-a phenomenon whereby victimization and offending appear inexorably linked to one another. Extant work has greatly contributed to our understanding of this cycle for different types of abuse and different types of offending, such as sex offending. The link between sexual abuse and later offending cannot be overstated, with research suggesting the impact of sexual abuse on sex offending to be more pronounced than any other type of abuse. However, in the literature, questions remain regarding sex offenders' patterns of offending. Specifically, it remains unclear whether type of abuse experienced has a differential impact on type of offending in adulthopd. Using retrospective data from sexual offenders in a Canadian penitentiary, we address this research gap by examining the impact of abuse experienced during childhood and adolescence on various types of offending in adulthood. Results indicate partial support for the cycle of violence hypothesis-the extent of criminal involvement can be explained as being a consequence of prior maltreatment; however, findings also suggest refinements to the theory, because the influence of type of abuse varies depending on the type of offending examined. Research and policy implications are discussed.