The Relationship Between Dimensionality and Duration of Household Poverty During Childhood and Onset of Youth Offending

Abstract Concern about rising youth offending amidst a cost-of-living crisis in the United Kingdom has reignited policy and academic debates about the relationship between childhood poverty and youth offending. International research findings are mixed, however, possibly due to the variety of poverty measures analysed or inconsistent examination of duration of poverty exposure. This study sheds new light on the issue by assessing the potential association between four measures of household poverty—experienced persistently or intermittently—and youth offending, using a birth cohort study from Scotland. Findings show that persistent exposure to financial strain is the only form of poverty predictive of offending by age 12. The paper highlights an overlooked perspective on the poverty-offending nexus, with important implications for policy and research.