1. Introduction
Child abuse according to the proposal included in the world situation report on the prevention of violence by the World Health Organization [
1] can be defined as the abuse and neglect of children under 18 years of age, including here all the types of physical or emotional abuse, sexual abuse, negligence, and commercial or other exploitation that result in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development, or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power.
Thus, under a broad conception of child abuse, we can affirm that this term is used to describe abusive or negligent acts perpetrated by adults or older youth against children. [
2]. The problem is associated with negative results, including antisocial behavior. In Ecuador, there are few studies on the subject due to the difficulties in obtaining information, unlike Western/American countries that have a different penal system, since regulatory laws in certain cases submit the minor to a trial in which he will be punished as an adult.
Regarding the types of child abuse, different classifications have been developed. One of the most widely used is the ‘hierarchical classification system’ [
3] which distinguishes physical abuse, emotional abuse, child neglect, and sexual abuse. Physical abuse is understood as those acts that involve physical punishment and aggression that can injure a minor and even end her/his life. Emotional abuse, also called psychological abuse, can be defined as abuse related to lack of care by the caregiver, causing the child to lack support and remain in an environment that is unsuitable for their development [
1]. Regarding negligence, this has been divided into two categories: physical, understood as a lack of attention to the basic needs of minors; and the psychological, more related to the lack of attention to emotional needs [
4].
Regarding the prevalence of child abuse, it is generally difficult to obtain reliable data, especially when it occurs in the family context [
5]. Apart from this difficulty, the literature reflects a high prevalence of child abuse, exceeding 50% in Africa, Asia, and North America, and 30% in Latin America [
6].
Specifically, in America, it has been seen that these figures vary depending on the level of poverty, ranging between 25% and 40% [
1]. Differentiating the typologies already mentioned, there is no consensus about which is the most prevalent. Some studies point to psychological abuse at (36.3%), followed by physical (22.6%), emotional (18.4%), and physical (16.3%) neglect [
7]. However, other studies indicate that neglect is the most frequent type of abuse (41.5%), followed by physical abuse (28.4%) [
8]. In this sense, it must be taken into account that there is usually more than one form of abuse at the same time [
9].
According to the World Health Organization [
1], children and adolescents constitute a population group that is especially vulnerable to interpersonal violence, highlighting the relevance of the consequences of the experience of abuse for children, which interfere in all areas of development. As refered by [
10], this abuse “is related to processes of maladjustment during development and to patterns of behavioral and emotional problems, which are acquired in the environment in which the minor develops, projecting in the future behaviors of coping that may culminate in criminal acts”.
In this sense, Ref. [
11] considers that it is difficult to specify the consequences of a traumatic event, since it implies various causes, and these appear over the years. However, it specifies that a minor who has been exposed to experiences of abuse in childhood has a greater risk of presenting problems in interpersonal relationships such as mistrust and avoidance of private and social relationships. According to [
12], minors who have suffered some type of abuse (neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse) are more likely to present alterations in all areas of their development (emotional, behavioral, social, academic, and physical health) than those minors who have not suffered this situation. On the other hand [
13], the presence of disruptive or antisocial behaviors during adolescence are interrelated with childhood abuse. In this vein, minors who have suffered or are suffering abuse are more likely to engage in externalizing behaviors such as school absenteeism, running away, crimes against private property, physical fights, use of weapons, as well as risky sexual behaviors [
14].
In this way, it should be noted that, during upbringing, the family plays a fundamental role, since it constitutes an exogenous factor of great relevance for the development of antisocial behaviors [
15]. Thus, it plays a key role in the eradication or proliferation of habits concomitant with the development of a personality related to criminal behavior in adolescents [
16]. Similarly, it has been found that abuse is highly prevalent in poor and marginalized sectors of the population and constitutes a significant threat to the healthy development of children who grow up in these environments [
11]. It is pertinent to have public policies where the State and the family work towards promoting a crime-free society [
15]. In this sense, understanding the magnitude and severity of child abuse is essential to develop clinical interventions and social policies in order to protect children at risk and treat those who have already been victimized [
17].
There is a need to study the relationship between the experience of abuse and criminal behavior in adolescence. It is necessary to point out that, in the Republic of Ecuador, adolescent offenders conform to a precise legal category, an adolescent being within the range of 12 to 17 years, 11 months, and 29 days. Children under 12 years of age are exempt from the measure as of the enactment of the Code for Children and Adolescents [
18]. Adolescents who have been declared criminally responsible, in accordance with the provisions of article 369 of the special legal text, will have socio-educational measures imposed, which are defined as actions ordered by the judicial authority when the responsibility of the adolescent has been declared in an act typified as a criminal offence. Its purpose is to achieve the social integration of the adolescent and the repair or compensation of the psycho-emotional damage caused. In Ecuador, there are eleven detection centers for adolescents, where robbery, murder, rape, and drug trafficking are the four most common crimes [
19]. However, obtaining data from adolescents deprived of liberty is a great challenge, due to the confidentiality criteria associated with the postulates of the Doctrine of Comprehensive Protection [
20], so there is little literature on the matter.
Based on what has been described, the objective is to identify the prevalence of child abuse and criminal behavior among young male prisoners who are involved in justice in Ecuador, for which the question arises: Do you consider that the prevalence of abuse is related to criminal behavior in adolescents in the study?
Although it is not possible to establish a causal relationship between child abuse and criminal behavior, there are some basic relationships between the two phenomena. It has been observed that children physically and/or emotionally assaulted would be more prone to commit aggressive criminal acts, and that children who suffered from neglect would be more likely to commit crimes against property. In addition, it has been pointed out that a significant percentage of the criminal population has a history of violence in childhood.
Families that live in violence are in a situation of isolation, rejection, and negative feelings, among others, regarding their community. This aspect has been considered as an element associated with the generation of criminal behavior within the group, increasing the biopsychosocial imbalance of adolescents.
It is important to keep in mind that the legal norms in force in the Ecuadorian State make it difficult to address other aspects that this issue requires, such as monitoring the reintegration into society once the sentence has been served or monitoring the effects of child abuse to continue committing any type of crime; this is not allowed since, without authorization to carry it out, article 5 of the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code [
21] that refers to procedural principles would be violated.
Based on the Code of Childhood and Adolescence in its Article 50, in relation to the “right to personal, physical, psychological, cultural, affective and sexual integrity”, together with Article 54 that refers to the “right to the reservation of the information on criminal records”, together with Article 51 Numeral 7 that emphasizes that “persons deprived of liberty are recognized… to have protection measures for girls, boys, adolescents”, which motivated the competent authorities not to provide information on female adolescents deprived of liberty.
The Code for Children and Adolescents in Article 306 mentions that “adolescents who commit offenses classified in the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code will be subject to socio-educational measures for their responsibility in accordance with the precepts of this Code”.
This same legal body, in its Article 385, establishes the “application of socio-educational measures in crimes sanctioned in the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code, where in its Numeral 3 it refers to” cases of crimes sanctioned with a custodial sentence of more than ten years where the measure of reprimand and institutional internment from four to eight years will be applied. Thus, Article 388 emphasizes that “the adolescent sentenced upon reaching the age of majority will continue with the imposed socio-educational measure. If it is a deprivation of liberty socio-educational measure, it will remain in a special section in the same Center for adolescent offenders.”
To achieve the objective and answer the question raised, the Constitutional rights and guarantees were respected together with the Code for Children and Adolescents, for which we reserve the right to the confidentiality of the information.
4. Discussion
Child abuse is defined as the abandonment of children under the age of 18, the result of emotional abandonment caused by a lack of attention as their affective and relational needs are not met. Abuse is the result of injury or danger; emotional abuse is inappropriate and disrespectful treatment that affects relationships with other people; physical abandonment of a minor caused by inadequate and insecure supervision can be one of the causes of criminal acts.
In this study, the interest is focused on identifying the factors of child abuse linked to criminal behavior in male adolescents deprived of liberty in Ecuador. Compared to other international studies [
23,
24,
25,
26], the sample size is considered high for similar research on the issues of abuse and juvenile delinquency, among others.
In general terms, regarding child abuse, it was found that the adolescents surveyed were victims, at different levels, of parental actions constituting child abuse. Likewise, the presence of risk contexts was verified through the files of the young people. However, when comparing each factor associated with child abuse and risk contexts, the presence of negative situations linked to family support, learning problems, and marginalized environments were highly differentiating characteristics among adolescents who suggested child abuse (moderate to high). This result corresponds to the findings of [
27], for whom social and family deficiencies were notorious in all the young people studied and, within their conditions, the presence of conditions of family marginalization and the like.
In general, studies indicate the existence of aspects that contribute to minimizing the probability of committing crimes, such as living with parents [
27]. This suggests that the same lack of family unity, communication with parents, and problematic situations within the family nucleus increase the risk of committing a crime. Similarly, having access to education helps to reduce crime because young people have less leisure time [
24]. Our results agree with the literature, given that the presence of school dropouts among adolescents was high. The marginality of the family and the environment are characteristics that tend to encourage delinquent behavior in adolescents [
26]. In this respect, our results are in line with what has been found in other investigations.
With regard to the relationship between the types of child abuse and the type of crime committed, in the young people who committed drug crimes, there was a high and statistically significant intensity in the four types of abuse studied. In addition, this group of young people had a higher risk of committing crimes because characteristics associated with little family support, school abandonment, and living in marginal areas were discovered in their files. Regarding the crime of murder, a high intensity of physical and emotional abuse was found, while the factors of affective and support needs and physical abandonment were found to have a low intensity. Likewise, it was marked by the presence of little family support and school desertion. In this sense, marginalization and family deficiencies are common among all young people accused of crimes. For the crime of rape, a moderate intensity of abuse is observed for the four typologies studied. Regarding risk contexts, the literature indicates that the very activity of young people, family dysfunction, and cohabitation in marginalized areas lead them to have a greater risk of being involved in a criminal act [
24]. However, our results do not show a clear trend in this regard. Regarding the crime of theft, adolescents have a low score in all types of abuse. In addition, young people who commit this type of crime have the lowest percentages in the three risk contexts studied.
In general terms, it can be concluded that the presence of child abuse, specifically affective and attachment needs, physical abuse, and emotional abuse, is related to delinquent behaviors, in accordance with previous literature [
28]. Similarly, marginal condition, lack of family support, and early school dropout all contribute to high rates of psycho-emotional instability in young people, which can lead to them seeking refuge in drug use and joining gangs, eventually becoming juvenile delinquents [
29]. Given this [
30], consider the following confounding factors in the development of delinquent behavior in adolescents. Thus, they point out that the adolescent, seeing himself without economic support and with few options for school improvement due to insufficient family support, can be frustrated and socially excluded, assuming inappropriate behaviors that contribute to the triggering of actions outside the law.
The limitations of the present study should be noted. Thus, the sample we have is exclusively male, so the generalization of the results is limited. Regarding the collection of information, the reference to the typologies of child abuse has been obtained through a self-reported questionnaire, which can give rise to biases; while the information related to the risk contexts has been obtained from what is indicated in the files, so it is limited by the rigor with which the information was added at the time. It should be noted that this is a cross-sectional study, so it only allows us to establish correlations.
Thus, for future studies, it is necessary to also explore these variables in women, given that the literature indicates differences between the sexes [
31]. Likewise, in order to know more precisely the relationship between abuse and delinquency, it would be interesting to carry out an investigation with a longitudinal design. This would allow for establishing causal relationships, as well as measuring the variables of child abuse and risk contexts at the time they occur. It would be interesting to study possible moderating variables, such as the frequency or chronicity of the abuse suffered [
32]. In general, we can conclude that the results obtained support the relationship between abuse in childhood and criminal behavior in the adolescent stage. Likewise, the relevance of the different risk contexts in the development of these behaviors is verified. All this points, once again, to the great importance of the protection of minors against the different forms of abuse, as well as the intervention of those who have been victims of it.