A comparison of diversity, frequency, and severity self-reported offending scores among female offending youth

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 24(3) of Psychological Assessment (see record 2012-04601-001). The article contained a number of errors which are corrected in the erratum.] Despite general consensus over the value of measuring self-reported offending, discrepancies exist in methods of scoring self-reported offending and the length of the reference period over which offending is assessed. This analysis compared the concurrent interassociations and longitudinal predictive strength of diversity, frequency, and severity offending scores measured over the past 6 months and diversity and severity scores measured "ever" between assessments. For violent offending, different scorings were highly correlated and equally predictive of adulthood offending. For nonviolent offending, there was significant continuity in diversity and severity-weighted diversity scores over the transition to adulthood but not in nonviolent frequency or severity-weighted frequency scores. Results support the use of offending diversity scores rather than offending frequency scores and highlight the importance of examining nonviolent and violent offending as separate constructs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Correction to oudekerk, erbacher, and reppucci (2012)

Reports an error in "A comparison of diversity, frequency, and severity self-reported offending scores among female offending youth" by Barbara A. Oudekerk, Monica K. Erbacher and N. Dickon Reppucci (Psychological Assessment, Advanced Online Publication, Jan 16, 2012, np). The article contained a number of errors which are corrected in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2012-00740-001.) Despite general consensus over the value of measuring self-reported offending, discrepancies exist in methods of scoring self-reported offending and the length of the reference period over which offending is assessed. This analysis compared the concurrent interassociations and longitudinal predictive strength of diversity, frequency, and severity offending scores measured over the past 6 months and diversity and severity scores measured "ever" between assessments. For violent offending, different scorings were highly correlated and equally predictive of adulthood offending. For nonviolent offending, there was significant continuity in diversity and severity-weighted diversity scores over the transition to adulthood but not in nonviolent frequency or severity-weighted frequency scores. Results support the use of offending diversity scores rather than offending frequency scores and highlight the importance of examining nonviolent and violent offending as separate constructs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

The dyadic interaction of persons with violent and nonviolent histories

College students were classified as having violent or nonviolent histories on the basis of their responses to the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS). Four groups of heterosexual pairs were then recalled for further testing: violent males paired with violent females, violent males with nonviolent females, nonviolent males with violent females, and nonviolent males with nonviolent females. These pairs were asked to role play their attempt to resolve an hypothetical conflict while being videotaped. Subsequently, their behavior was recorded into the three summary categories that emcompass the Marital Interaction Coding System. Persons with violent histories were more frequently negative than those with nonviolent histories while interacting with an individual having a similar history. This result supports the validity of the CTS by demonstrating that it is capable of predicting behavior during the verbal resolution of a conflict. However, the results suggested that the nature of the contribution to the aversiveness of the interaction may be different for males and females. Overall, these results offer some support for the notion that some individuals learn aversive behavior as a general behavioral style for controlling their environments with the probability of performing coercive behavior partially a function of other individuals.     

A longitudinal examination of the relation between co‐offending with violent accomplices and violent crime

Although the idea that youthful offenders are affected by the company they keep is widely accepted, evidence in support of this idea is based primarily on reports provided by offenders and their peers. As an alternative to relying on reports of criminal behavior, a method that may overestimate the role that peers play in criminal behavior, the current research on co‐offending uses court records to identify and track over time individuals who are known to commit crimes together. The present investigation is the first co‐offending study to track patterns of violent criminal behavior (over an 18‐year period) among a sample of urban offenders and their accomplices. The study tests whether violence “spreads” from violent offenders to those inexperienced in violence. Results indicate that nonviolent offenders who commit their first co‐offense with violent accomplices are at increased risk for subsequent serious violent crime. Findings suggest that lessons of violence can be learned “on the street,” where knowledge is passed along through impromptu social contexts, including those in which offenders commit crimes together. Aggr. Behav. 28:97–108, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Early childhood predictors of boys’ antisocial and violent behavior in early adulthood

Research on early childhood predictors of violent behaviors in early adulthood is limited. The current study investigated whether individual, family, and community risk factors from 18 to 42 months of age were predictive of violent criminal arrests during late adolescence and early adulthood using a sample of 310 low-income male participants living in an urban community. In addition, differences in trajectories of overt conduct problems (CP), hyperactivity/attention problems (HAP), and co-occurring patterns of CP and HAP from age 1½ to 10 years were investigated in regard to their relationship to violent and nonviolent behaviors, depression, and anxiety at age 20. Results of multivariate analyses indicated that early childhood family income, home environment, emotion regulation, oppositional behavior, and minority status were all significant in distinguishing violent offending boys from those with no criminal records. In addition, trajectories of early childhood CP, but not attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, were significantly related to self-reports of violent behavior, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. Implications for the prevention of early childhood risk factors associated with adolescent and adult violent behavior for males are discussed.     

Development of personality disorder symptoms and the risk for partner violence

In a community sample (N = 543) followed over 20 years, the authors studied associations among childhood family violence exposure, personality disorder (PD) symptoms, and adult partner violence. PD symptoms (DSM-III-R Clusters A, B, and C) in early adulthood partially mediated the effect of earlier childhood risks on the odds of perpetrating partner violence. The authors tested whether stability of PD symptoms from adolescence to the early 20s differs for individuals who later perpetrated partner violence. Cluster A ("Odd/Eccentric") symptoms declined less with age among partner violent versus nonviolent men and women. Cluster B ("Dramatic/Erratic") symptoms were more stable through late adolescence in partner violent men, compared with nonviolent men and violent women. Cluster C ("Anxious") symptoms were most stable among partner violent men.     

Temperature and aggression: effects on quarterly, yearly, and city rates of violent and nonviolent crime

The hypothesized relation between uncomfortably hot temperatures and aggressive behavior was examined in two studies of violent and nonviolent crime. Data on rates of murder, rape, assault, robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft were gathered from archival sources. The first three crimes listed are violent; the latter four are less violent (labeled nonviolent). On the basis of previous research and theory (Anderson & Anderson, 1984), it was predicted that violent crimes would be more prevalent in the hotter quarters of the year and in hotter years. Furthermore, it was predicted that this temperature-crime relation would be stronger for violent than for nonviolent crime. Study 1 confirmed both predictions. Also, differences among cities in violent crime were predicted to be related to the hotness of cities; this effect was expected to be stronger for violent than for nonviolent crimes. Study 2 confirmed both predictions, even when effects of a variety of social, demographic, and economic variables were statistically removed. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Predictors and outcomes of persistent or age‐limited registered criminal behavior: a 30‐year longitudinal study of a Swedish urban population

This study uses data from the longitudinal research program Individual Development and Adaptation, where an entire school‐grade cohort of children in a middle‐size Swedish city (n～1.300) has been followed from ages 10 to 43 and 48 for women and men, respectively. Our findings indicate that the patterns of offending across the life‐course differ between genders, where males seem to initiate their offending earlier than females. Further, there are very few women on a persistent offending‐trajectory. Focusing on precursors to as well as consequences of offending as indexed in official registers, our results indicate that individuals in the persistent offender group have the most pronounced adjustment problems in school‐ as well as in middle age. Individual characteristics and behaviors (e.g., aggression, hyperactivity, antisocial behavior) vary systematically between individuals with different developmental offending patterns. The combination of an unstable upbringing and own antisocial behavior seems to be especially predictive for criminality. For persistent offenders, the prevalence of alcohol and psychiatric problems at adult age is high for males and extremely high for females (nine out of ten and six out of ten for each of the two problem types for females). Further, the importance for adjustment of the two‐dimensional variation in the number of crimes committed during adolescence and adult age seems to have been surprisingly well captured by the “crude” division into the four offender groups that were used. Aggr. Behav. 35:164–178, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Testosterone,aggressiveness, and antisocial personality

Testosterone levels were examined in prisoners convicted of violent crimes (n = 13), in men previously convicted of violent crimes but currently not in prison (n = 15), in nonviolent alcoholics (n = 15), and in randomly selected control males (n = 16). Morning, afternoon, and evening testosterone levels were assessed after a minimum alcohol abstinence period of 24 hr. Violent and nonviolent men did not differ in plasma total testosterone level on any sampling occasion. In violent men, however, testosterone levels were significantly correlated with hostility, as measured by the Derogatis Symptom Check List. Most violent men were diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASP) [DSM‐III‐R; 301.70], and the unweighted ASP symptom count also correlated significantly with testosterone levels in these subjects. We suggest that individuals whose life histories involve numerous antisocial behaviors tend to have high testosterone levels even when interpersonal violence is excluded. This, however, does not eliminate the possibility that males who are characterized by high hostility may also have elevated testosterone levels. Violent predisposition and antisocial conduct beginning in early adolescence predict adult aggressive behaviors, which are augmented by power‐related alcohol expectancies and alcohol abuse. Aggr. Behav. 25:113–123, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Stability and predictors of psychopathic traits from mid‐adolescence through early adulthood

High levels of psychopathic traits in youth are associated with multiple negative outcomes including substance misuse, aggressive behavior, and criminality. Evidence regarding stability of psychopathic traits is contradictory. No previous study has examined long‐term stability of psychopathic traits assessed with validated clinical measures. The present study examined the stability of psychopathic traits from mid‐adolescence to early adulthood and explored adolescent factors that predicted psychopathic traits five years later. The sample included 99 women and 81 men who had consulted a clinic for substance misuse in adolescence. At an average age of 16.8 years, the adolescents were assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV) and five years later using the PCL‐Revised (PCL‐R). Additionally, extensive clinical assessments of the adolescents and their parents were completed in mid‐adolescence. Among both females and males, moderate to high rank‐order stability was observed for total PCL and facet scores. Among both females and males, there was a decrease in the mean total PCL score, interpersonal facet score, affective facet score, and lifestyle facet score. However, the great majority of females and males showed no change in psychopathy scores over the five‐year period as indicated by the Reliable Change Index. Despite the measures of multiple family and individual factors in adolescence, only aggressive behavior and male sex predicted PCL‐R total scores in early adulthood after taking account of PCL:YV scores. Taken together, these results from a sample who engaged in antisocial behavior in adolescence suggest that factors promoting high psychopathy scores act early in life.     

The Disruptive Adolescent as a Grown-Up: Predicting Adult Startle Responses to Violent and Erotic Films from Adolescent Conduct Problems and Callous-Unemotional Traits

The current study aimed to identify heterogeneous groups of adolescents differing on their levels of conduct problems (CP) and callous-unemotional (CU) traits, and compare them on startle reactivity to emotional videos (violent/erotic) during young adulthood. A Latent Profile Analysis, conducted among a longitudinal sample of 2306 adolescents, provided evidence for the existence of heterogeneous CP and CU subgroups (i.e., CP-only, CU-only, and CP+CU groups). Three years later, 82 young adults (Mage?=?19.95), randomly selected from the identified groups, participated in an experiment assessing their startle eye-blink responses during violent, erotic and neutral video scenes. Self-report ratings of fear, valence and arousal to affective scenes were also collected. Findings suggested that adolescents high on CP and low on CU traits showed high startle potentiation when viewing violent scenes during young adulthood, while those high on both CP and CU traits showed diminished startle reactivity to violent stimuli. Individuals high on CU traits without CP showed similar startle reactivity to controls. Further, the findings indicate that startle potentiation to violent stimuli can be a reliable physiological marker to distinguish antisocial individuals with and without CU traits. The finding that the CU only group was not differentiated from the control group on startle reactivity when viewing violent stimuli might explain their lower likelihood of engaging in antisocial behavior.     

Physical Abuse Victimization and Violence in the Transition to Adulthood: The Mediating Role of Alcohol and Drug Use

In the present paper we examine the association between physical abuse victimization in childhood and violent criminal behavior in the transition from adolescence to adulthood (TAA). Of central interest is whether that association is indirect, through the impact of abuse victimization on alcohol and drug use. We employ a statistical test for indirect effects, using a design that also applies Savage and Wozniak’s (2016) “differential etiology of violence” standard. The data suggest that the effect of physical abuse on violence in the TAA is partially indirect, mediated by alcohol and drug use. A control for nonviolent offending is applied to build confidence that the dynamic between abuse victimization and substance use is a differential predictor of violence.     

Loneliness and alcoholism risk in late adolescence: a comparative study of adults and adolescents.

The Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST) was administered via phone survey to a random sample of subjects 18 years of age and older in a large metropolitan county. Among late adolescents (aged 18 to 20), lonely females had the highest mean score on the SMAST, indicating a higher degree of alcoholism risk than lonely males and nonlonely males and females. Among lonely females, late adolescents scored higher on the SMAST than any other age group. For males, loneliness did not appear to increase alcoholism risk in the late adolescent age group, but did appear to do so during the early and middle adulthood years. The implications of these findings for mental health professionals and adolescent substance abuse treatment personnel are discussed.     

A latent variable modeling approach to identifying subtypes of serious and violent female juvenile offenders

Females have recently become an important population in research related to serious and violent juvenile offending. Although a small body of research exists on girls in the deep end of the system, very few studies have examined the degree of heterogeneity within high-risk female samples. This study applied latent class analysis (LCA) to identify subgroups of female juvenile offenders based on their self-report of offending profiles (N=133). Results supported a three-class solution with subgroups characterized by patterns of 'violent and delinquent', 'delinquency only', and 'low' offending patterns. The LCA solution was replicated in an independent sample of high-risk females. The 'violent and delinquent' class was characterized by significantly higher rates of DSM-IV diagnoses for internalizing disorders, affect dysregulation, exposure to violence (within the home, school and neighborhood), and familial histories of criminality. Implications for future research, policy and clinical practice are discussed.     

Developmental trajectories of childhood disruptive behaviors and adolescent delinquency: a six-site,cross-national study

This study used data from 6 sites and 3 countries to examine the developmental course of physical aggression in childhood and to analyze its linkage to violent and nonviolent offending outcomes in adolescence. The results indicate that among boys there is continuity in problem behavior from childhood to adolescence and that such continuity is especially acute when early problem behavior takes the form of physical aggression. Chronic physical aggression during the elementary school years specifically increases the risk for continued physical violence as well as other nonviolent forms of delinquency during adolescence. However, this conclusion is reserved primarily for boys, because the results indicate no clear linkage between childhood physical aggression and adolescent offending among female samples despite notable similarities across male and female samples in the developmental course of physical aggression in childhood.     

Retracted: Effects of cartoon violence on aggressive thoughts and aggressive behaviors

This article reports on an experiment designed to test whether the cartoon manipulation leads to significant increases in aggressive thoughts and aggressive behaviors among Chinese children (n = 3,000). Results indicated that brief exposure to a violent cartoon triggered higher aggressive thoughts and aggressive behaviors than a nonviolent cartoon. Females displayed higher aggressive thoughts and aggressive behaviors than males in a nonviolent cartoon condition, while males displayed higher aggressive behaviors than females in a violent cartoon condition. Mediation analysis suggested that the effect on aggressive behaviors was mediated by aggressive thoughts. The findings imply that cartoon developers, parents, and teachers should develop cartoons that inhibit children's aggressive thoughts to avoid aggressive behaviors. Females are the key group for the prevention and intervention of aggression in a nonviolent cartoon context, while males are the key group for the prevention and intervention of aggression in a violent cartoon context.     

Gender and Country Differences in Alcohol-Aggression Expectancy and Alcohol-Related Intimate Partner Violence

Drinking is associated with a higher rate of violent offending among males and a higher rate of violent victimization among females. Using comparable self-reported data, this study examines between the United States (n = 2,363) and Japan (n = 1,660) whether the gender difference in alcohol-related Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is explained by alcohol-aggression expectancy. The results indicate that though males are more likely than females to expect that alcohol would make them more aggressive, alcohol-aggression expectancy cannot explain the gender difference in alcohol-related IPV. In both countries, instead, alcohol use of males most strongly accounted for the gender difference in alcohol-related IPV.     

Exploring the relationship between the Five-Factor Model of personality,social factors and self-reported delinquency

The ‘Big Five’ is one of the predominant models of personality structure but relatively little research has focussed on how the five factors might be related to self reported offending separately for males and females. This is problematic for understanding the relationship between personality and offending as females and males typically have different personality profiles and differ considerably in self-reported offending. In this research 720 adolescents (376 males and 344 females) completed a Big Five personality measure along with measures of self-reported offending, socioeconomic status and family structure. The results suggested that low agreeableness and low conscientiousness were independently related to the prevalence of self-reported offending for males and that low agreeableness was independently related to frequent male offending. Low conscientiousness was independently related to female offending, but so too were interactions between disrupted family and extraversion and disrupted family and openness. The interaction between extraversion and a disrupted family was also independently related to frequent female offending. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

The prediction of violent and nonviolent criminal behavior in a methadone maintenance population

The utility of traits associated with Antisocial Personality Disorder in making risk assessments of violent and nonviolent crimes was examined in 254 subjects sampled from a methadone maintenance population. A factor analysis of a number of baseline measures resulted in five factors measuring hostility, insecure attachment, impaired reality testing, antisocial personality, and empathy. These factors were used in logistic regression analysis to predict charges for violent and nonviolent crimes over a 2-year period. Individuals with high scores on the antisocial personality factor had an increased risk of both violent and nonviolent criminal charges. Individuals with low scores on the empathy factor were at high risk for violent crimes. In an analysis using the factor components rather than the factors, the measures of perspective-taking and a socialization were associated with violent criminal charges, and the measure of psychopathy, but not antisocial behavior, was associated with nonviolent criminal charges. The results support the use of measures of personality traits in addition to measures of a history of antisocial behavior in making violence risk assessments in substance-dependent patients. The DSM construct and diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder may be enhanced by greater emphasis on personality traits associated with antisocial behavior.     

Substance Use, Criminal Activity, and Mental Health Among Violent and Nonviolent Rural Probationers

Differences between violent and nonviolent probationers were examined in the growing, yet understudied, rural probation population. Violent rural probationers had higher rates of substance use, criminal activity, and mental health symptoms than did nonviolent rural probationers. Implications for practitioners are discussed.