Developmental Timing of Onsets of Disruptive Behaviors and Later Delinquency of Inner-City Youth

A longitudinal sample of 306 males were followed with annual interviews over 4 years to evaluate the role of the timing of onset of different types of disruptive behaviors in predicting later arrest rates. In particular, we applied the Developmental Pathways model to explain progressions from less serious to more serious behaviors and progression along three types of disruptive pathways defined as Overt, Covert, and Authority Conflict behaviors. Results indicated that the sequences and the prognostic properties hypothesized for the model were supported. Most youth showed a progression from behaviors expected to occur earlier to those expected to come later according to the model. In addition, these results showed that onset timing of most types of behavior as well as rapidity of reaching more serious behavior related to arrest rate. This cross-validation extends the model to a high risk inner-city population and to Latino youth. One notable exception to the general trend found was that violence did not always follow earlier involvement in less serious offenses and did not seem to show the same onset timing relation to risk for arrests. Social-ecological differences in the precipitants of violence in the inner-city compared to other developmental settings, as well as the possibility that multiple forms of violence have differing underlying causes, may explain this exception. The model's generality suggests it has utility for guiding and discriminating risk better than simply noting the frequency, seriousness, or onset timing of delinquency.     

Multivariate Analysis Of Gang Delinquency: I. Ecologic Influences

In continuity with delinquency area research, the study examined the neighborhood characteristics of 16 delinquent gangs in Chicago, 1960. Compared with city norms, gang neighborhoods were lower on Borgatta-Hadden census tract factors of Sodo-Economic Status and Stable Family; higher on Disorganization-deprivation; not different on the Suburb factor. Measures of gang behavior were taken from the Short-Tennyson-Howard rated behavior factors: Conflict, Stable Corner-Boy, Mature Sex, Retreatist, and Authority Protest. Significant positive correlations were found between the Suburb and the Stable Corner-Boy factors; and between the Socio-Economic Status and Authority Protest factors. These results seem to support two major parts of A. Cohen's theory of delinquent boys.     

Disruptive boys with stable and unstable high fighting behavior patterns during junior elementary school

Boys' fighting was assessed at ages six, eight, and nine. The boys (N = 69) had been selected from the 30% most disruptive children in kindergartens from low socioeconomic neighborhoods. Twenty-three percent of these disruptive boys were rated as high fighters on three assessments ("stable high fighters"), and 28% were rated as high fighters on two of the three assessments ("variable high fighters"). Forty-two percent were rated as high fighters only one out of three assessments ("occasional high fighters") and 7% were never rated as high fighters. Only high fighting in two successive years significantly increased the risk of being rated a high fighter in a following year. At age 10, stable high fighters (high fighters at ages 6, 8, 9) were perceived by teachers, peers, mothers, and the boys themselves as more disruptive and more antisocial than occasional high fighters. These results show an impressive self-other agreement in boys who have adopted a physically aggressive life style from an early age. The three groups did not differ on individual family demographic characteristics, but stable high fighters had a higher mean on an index of family socioeconomic disadvantage. Results indicate that the aggression scales which include only a few physical aggression items and many disruptive items (oppositional behavior, rejection, hyperactivity, inattention, etc.) probably aggregate two kinds of disruptive boys, the high-frequency fighters at high risk for stable disruptive, physically aggressive, and antisocial behaviors, and the disruptive low-frequency fighters who are at a lower risk of stable disruptive behavior and at a lower risk of early antisocial behavior.     

Latent Class Analysis of Antisocial Behavior: Interaction of Serotonin Transporter Genotype and Maltreatment

To improve understanding about genetic and environmental influences on antisocial behavior (ASB), we tested the association of the 44-base pair polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) and maltreatment using latent class analysis in 2,488 boys and girls from Wave 1 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. In boys, ASB was defined by three classes (Exclusive Covert, Mixed Covert and Overt, and No Problems) whereas in girls, ASB was defined by two classes (Exclusive Covert, No Problems). In boys, 5-HTTLPR and maltreatment were not significantly related to ASB. However, in girls, maltreatment, but not 5-HTTLPR, was significantly associated with ASB. A significant interaction between 5-HTTLPR and maltreatment was also observed, where maltreated girls homozygous for the short allele were 12 times more likely to be classified in the Exclusive Covert group than in the No Problems group. Structural differences in the latent structure of ASB at Wave 2 and Wave 3 prevented repeat LCA modeling. However, using counts of ASB, 5-HTTLPR, maltreatment, and its interaction were unrelated to overt and covert ASB at Wave 2 and only maltreatment was related to covert ASB at Wave 3. We discuss these findings within the context of sex differences in ASB and relevant models of gene-environment interplay across developmental periods.     

Childhood Predictors of Desistance and Level of Persistence in Offending in Early Onset Offenders

Childhood predictors of adolescent offending careers were studied in 310 boys from the longitudinal Pittsburgh Youth Study who started offending prior to age 12. Three main groups were distinguished: serious persisters (n = 95), moderately serious persisters (n = 117), desisters (n = 63), and an intermittent group (n = 35). Group membership was predicted using risk and promotive factors measured in childhood. Serious and moderately serious persisters could be distinguished well from desisters (29.2% and 32.3% explained variance). Distinction between the two persister groups proved somewhat more difficult (20.9% explained variance). More serious persisters than desisters showed disruptive behavior, while moderately serious persisters fell in between. Further, more moderately serious persisters were marked by social disadvantage. Family involvement, small family and positive peer relationships were promotive of desistance. Concluding, early onset offenders show considerable heterogeneity in their adolescent offending careers which seem to some extent to be predicted by different sets of risk and promotive factors.     

Developmental sequences in the age of onset of disruptive child behaviors

Retrospective and prospective reports of the onset of disruptive child behaviors were analyzed in a sample of clinic-referred boys. The younger boys (ages 7–9 years), compared with the older boys (ages 10–12 years), showed the highest level of disruptive behavior and, judging from mothers' reports, had the fastest progression of onsets from less serious to more serious problem behaviors. Despite some overlap, developmental sequences in problem behavior within the domains of hyperactivity/inattention, oppositional behavior, and conduct problems were similar across the two age groups. This was also the case for developmental sequences of overt or confrontive problem behaviors and covert or concealing conduct problems. Sequences of the onset of oppositional behavior and conduct problems were validated through prospective data, based on the information from mothers, teachers, and boys themselves. The implications of the findings are discussed for the formulation of developmental pathways of behavior and the analysis of causal factors.     

Is Neighborhood Context Differently Related to Externalizing Problems and Delinquency for Girls Compared with Boys?

Although a number of reviews of gender differences in conduct problems and delinquency exist, this paper fills a gap in reviewing neighborhood influences on gender differences in conduct problems and delinquency. These influences are known to be important for boys in childhood and adolescence, but cannot be assumed to be influential in the same manner for girls. The paper starts with several conceptualizations of the association between gender, neighborhoods and juvenile delinquency. It then addresses 4 key questions. Is residing in a disadvantaged neighborhood associated with problem behavior in girls? Are neighborhood effects independent of girls' age? Are girls in disadvantaged neighborhoods exposed to more risk factors than girls in advantaged neighborhoods? Can mediating risk factors explain gender differences in neighborhood effects on children's and adolescents' conduct problems and delinquent behavior? Answers to these questions are important to steer research and elucidate aspects of interventions that can be optimized for girls.     

Are Developmental Pathways in Disruptive Behaviors the Same for Girls and Boys?

Data from the first five waves of the National Youth Survey were used to test the applicability of the Developmental Pathways model to a nationally representative sample of girls. Overall, girls were less likely to be involved in all types of delinquent behavior, with the majority of girls reporting no delinquent involvement across the five waves of data collected. Using the Developmental Pathways model, similar developmental patterns of antisocial and delinquent involvement were found for girls as have been found for boys. Approximately 70% of involved girls followed most steps in each of the pathways. We also evaluated the relation of family and peer factors to specific pathways and found differences in those relations for boys and girls. For girls, only parental monitoring was related to involvement in one of the three pathways. For boys, specific relations were found between family and peer variables and each of the three developmental pathways. As with previous studies on girls involvement in disruptive behavior, these results suggest some general consistency in patterns with that of boys, although differences in frequency and predictors of risk.     

Linked Lives, Faith, and Behavior: Intergenerational Religious Influence on Adolescent Delinquency

Research on religion and delinquency has generally concluded that only minor forms of delinquency are affected by religious commitments. However, parents have not often been the focus of religion and delinquency research. This study explores the influence of parental religious identity and behavior on the serious delinquency of adolescent children. This analysis tested an intergenerational model of religious influence on delinquent behavior. Results suggest parental religious devotion protects girls considerably better than boys. In fact, it may amplify delinquency among boys, at least when controlling for other important influences such as autonomy and family satisfaction. Parents' conservative Protestant affiliation displays consistent negative direct effects on delinquency, but little indirect influence. This study reinforces the importance of considering linked lives in the development of youth, as well as the need to assess both direct and indirect religious influences.     

Responses of boys and girls to a behaviorally focused school attitude questionnaire

In response to the Teacher Approval-Disapproval Scale (TADS), elementary school boys report receiving more personal disapproval and less personal approval from their teachers than do elementary school girls, but boys and girls do not differ in reporting how frequently their teachers distribute approvals and disapprovals to the whole class. Boys' attitudes toward being in the classroom are more negative than girls', but there is also a tendency for boys to perceive the whole class's attitude as being more negative than do girls. These results suggest that sex differences in school attitude are at least partially determined by differential teacher behavior toward boys and girls.     

Randomized prevention trial for early conduct problems: effects on proactive parenting and links to toddler disruptive behavior.

Despite knowledge of early pathways to conduct problems, few preventive interventions are specifically designed to modify disruptive behavior in toddlerhood. One potential prevention target is proactive and positive parenting, which is associated with reduced risk of conduct problems in preschoolers. This randomized trial with 120 low-income 2-year-old boys examined whether a brief family-centered intervention that reduces disruptive behavior (D. Shaw, T. Dishion, L. Supplee, F. Gardner, & K. Arnds, 2006) also leads to increases in proactive and positive parenting. It also explored whether change in parenting predicts change in disruptive behavior. In the intervention group, proactive and positive parenting skills increased among parents of 3-year-olds. Change in proactive and positive parenting of 2- to 3-year-old toddlers correlated with change in child disruptive behavior, although the mediation effect of positive parenting was of only borderline significance. Findings suggest that even within a brief and multifaceted preventive intervention, change in proactive parenting skills contributes modestly but significantly to change in child problem behavior.     

The Development of Early Externalizing Problems Among Children from Low-Income Families: A Transformational Perspective

The present study examined pathways leading to early externalizing problems from age 1 to 31/2 in a design that took advantage of our knowledge of normative progression and normative socialization as well as findings from research on risk. A sample of 130 low-income participants was followed longitudinally from 12 to 42 months using observational measures of developmentally salient parenting and child disruptive behavior to predict early externalizing problems. Results are best accommodated by concepts such as transformation and transaction from developmental psychology. For boys, both child and parent variables predicted later externalizing. For girls and boys, the interaction between child noncompliance and maternal rejection was significant.     

Developmental aspects of delinquency and internalizing problems and their association with persistent juvenile substance use between ages 7 and 18.

Analyzed longitudinal data from 3 samples of the Pittsburgh Youth Study on boys ages 7 to 18 to examine the co-occurrence of persistent substance use with other problem behaviors, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), persistent delinquency, and persistent internalizing problems (i.e., depressed mood, anxiety, shy or withdrawn behavior). In preadolescence, persistent substance users also tended to be persistent delinquents, and half of this group displayed persistent internalizing problems as well. In adolescence, a third of the persistent substance users did not manifest other persistent problems. Across the samples, the least common substance users were those who manifested persistent internalizing problems only. Logistic regression analyses showed that persistent substance use in preadolescence was predicted by persistent delinquency and internalizing problems and in adolescence by persistent delinquency only. The combination of persistent substance use and delinquency was predicted by oppositional defiant disorder in middle childhood and by persistent internalizing problems in middle to late childhood. ADHD was not a predictor of persistent substance use (and delinquency) in any of the analyses. Results are discussed in terms of developmental models of multiproblem youth with an eye on improving early interventions.     

Joint Trajectories of Symptoms of Disruptive Behavior Problems and Depressive Symptoms During Early Adolescence and Adjustment Problems During Emerging Adulthood

The joint, longitudinal trajectories of symptoms of disruptive behavior problems and of depression were examined in a community sample drawn from neighborhoods with elevated rates of delinquency. Growth mixture modeling was applied to a 6?year transition period from childhood to adolescence, age 10 to 16?years, to identify latent classes of trajectories for each symptom type. Several classes emerged for the two types of symptoms, namely a group of youth with high levels of disruptive behavior, a group with increasing levels, and a group with low levels, as well as a group with increasing levels of depression, a group with high levels, a group with decreasing levels, and a group with low levels. Within each symptom type, membership in either the high or in the increasing classes was related to a variety of problematic outcomes during emerging adulthood. The co-occurrence of the disruptive behavior and depression classes was then evaluated using parallel process analysis. Youth exhibiting high depressive symptoms were at increased risk for disruptive behavior problems, and youth with increasing disruptive behavior problems were at risk for depressive symptoms. However, only a very small number of youth had both a high depression trajectory and a high disruptive behavior trajectory. Implications of the findings for the design of prevention and treatment programs are discussed.     

Early Language Impairment and Young Adult Delinquent and Aggressive Behavior

Clinic and forensic studies have reported high rates of language impairments in conduct disordered and incarcerated youth. In community samples followed to early adolescence, speech and language impairments have been linked to attention deficits and internalizing problems, rather than conduct problems, delinquency, or aggression. This study examines the young adult antisocial outcomes of speech or language impaired children. Language impaired boys had higher levels of parent-rated delinquency symptoms by age 19 than boys without language impairment, controlled for verbal IQ and for demographic and family variables. Language impaired boys did not differ from controls in self-reported delinquency or aggression symptoms on a standardized checklist; however, language impaired boys reported higher rates of arrests and convictions than controls. Language impairment was not related to aggression or delinquency in girls. We examine alternate models of the interrelationships between language, academics, and behavior, at ages 5, 12, and 19.     

Developmental associations between externalizing behaviors, peer delinquency, drug use, perceived neighborhood crime, and violent behavior in urban communities

This study examines the precursors of violent behavior among urban, racial/ethnic minority adults. Data are from an on-going study of male and female African Americans and Puerto Ricans, interviewed at four time waves, Time 1-Time 4 (T1-T4), from adolescence to adulthood. Structural Equation Modeling was used to analyze the developmental pathways, beginning in mid-adolescence (T1; age = 14.0 years), to violent behavior in adulthood (T4; age = 29.2 years). The variables assessed were: components of externalizing behaviors (i.e., rebelliousness, delinquency; T1, T3); illicit drug use (T2); peer delinquency (T2); perceived neighborhood crime (T4); and violent behavior (T3, T4). Results showed that the participants' externalizing behaviors (rebelliousness and delinquency) were relatively stable from mid-adolescence (T1; age = 14.0 years) to early adulthood (T3; age = 24.4 years). The participants' externalizing behaviors in mid-adolescence also had a direct pathway to peer delinquency in late adolescence (T2; age = 19.1 years). Peer delinquency, in turn, had a direct pathway to the participants' illicit drug use in late adolescence (T2), and to externalizing behaviors in early adulthood (T3). The participants' illicit drug use (T2; age = 19.1 years) had both direct and indirect paths to violent behavior in adulthood (T4). The participants' externalizing behaviors in early adulthood (T3) were linked with violent behavior at T3, and perceived neighborhood crime (T4), both of which had direct pathways to violent behavior in adulthood (T4). The findings suggest developmental periods during which externalizing behaviors, exposure to delinquent peers, illegal drug use, and neighborhood crime could be targeted by prevention and intervention programs in order to reduce violent behavior.     

Bullies and delinquents: personal characteristics and parental styles

This research aimed to analyse the personal characteristics and parental styles of bullies and delinquents, and to establish which factors were related to the bully/delinquent group and which were related to only bullies or only delinquents. A self‐report questionnaire on bullying and delinquency was completed by 113 girls and 125 boys aged 11–14 in a middle school in Rome. Bullying and delinquency were more common among boys than among girls. Bullying did not vary significantly with age, but delinquency increased with age. Bullying and delinquency were especially related for boys and for older students. Only bullies were younger, while only delinquents were older, suggesting that bullying might be an early stage on a developmental sequence leading to delinquency. Only bullies and only delinquents had different parenting correlates; only bullies had authoritarian parents and disagreed with their parents, whereas only delinquents had conflictual and low supportive parents. This suggested that bullying and delinquency are not merely different behavioural manifestations of the same underlying construct. Parent training interventions might prevent both bullying and delinquency. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early Childhood Antecedents of Aggression and Passive-Withdrawal in Early Elementary School

Early childhood antecedents of elementary school aggression and passive-withdrawal were evaluated in a large longitudinal study (N = 191). With teacher ratings as outcome measures, a variety of predictor variables were selected from a comprehensive data base. Predictors were selected to represent several major factors: (a) a developmental history of insecure attachment and poor adjustment; (b) inadequate or hostile parental care; and (c) stressful or chaotic life circumstances. Support was found for the prediction of these behavior problems from early childhood measures (up to one third of the variance), with results varying with sex and outcome measure. Results were stronger for boys than girls, and stronger for aggression than for passive-withdrawal. Boys' outcome was strongly related to attachment classification at 18 months. It is suggested that these findings support Bowlby's view that early acquired "working models" of self and other affect later interpersonal functioning.     

Children's attributions for Peers' positive behaviors: Social status differences

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences between aggressive-rejected and nonaggressive-cooperative boys in their attributions for peers'positive behaviors. In individual interviews, 27 aggressive-rejected and 27 nonaggressive-accepted boys were presented with 10 vignettes and a real-life situation in which a peer's action resulted in a favorable outcome for another peer or for the subject. Subjects' attributions for the peer's behavior were elicited with open-ended probes. Analysis of variance indicated that the groups did not differ in their tendency to infer positive intentions in the hypothetical story condition. In the real-life situation, aggressive-rejected boys were less likely to infer positive intentionality than were the nonaggressive-accepted boys. Boys' responses across the two conditions (hypothetical and real life) were moderately consistent.     

Relationship between impulsiveness and deviant behavior among adolescents in the classroom: age and sex differences

To assess the relationship between impulsiveness and deviant behavior among 103 adolescents, taking into account their sociodemographic characteristics, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and a self-assessment measure with regard to disruptive and deviant behaviors which had occurred in the last 90 days were used. The results show that impulsiveness and disruptive behavior in the classroom were related to deviant behavior outside of the classroom. Therefore, age and sex explained the relationship between impulsiveness and behavior. The older adolescents and the girls showed less disruptive behaviors than the younger participants and the boys; both variables showed an interactive effect on disruptive behavior. The age at which sexual activity commenced and the number of sexual partners were also significantly related to impulsiveness and disruptive and deviant behavior. Similarly, impulsiveness was shown to have a significant relationship with disruptive and deviant behavior, and disruptive behavior was shown to have a significant relationship with deviant behavior.