Moffitt's theory regarding two types of adolescent antisocial behavior was investigated using a prospective, longitudinal study of normal and abnormal development in a primarily low socioeconomic status, ethnically diverse sample. Results supported the presence of an early-onset/persistent (EOP) group and an adolescence-onset (AO) group. Groups were most reliably and significantly distinguished by indices of socioemotional history within the first 3 years, but no significant differences were found on early measures of temperament or neuropsychological functioning. EOPs scored significantly lower than other groups on measures of neuropsychological functioning only during late childhood and adolescence, suggesting that the declines in verbal functioning that have been so reliably found in this and other samples of early-starting antisocial adolescents are progressive and consequent to adverse experience. In adolescence, AOs were significantly more likely to report high levels of internalizing symptoms and life stress, suggesting that AO antisocial behavior is not a benign phenomenon. Implications of these findings for etiologic theories of adolescent antisocial behavior are discussed.

Although the turning points theory posits that the successful engagement of the romantic and work domains in young adulthood represents an important opportunity for disrupting antisocial pathways, others have recently speculated that such turning points may be most applicable to the majority of antisocial youth who begin offending in adolescence~Adolescence-Onset @AO#!, rather than those who begin early in childhood and persist Early-Onset0Persistent @EOP#!. This study was designed~a! to attempt replication of recent evidence that AOs demonstrate problem behaviors intermediate to EOP and Never Antisocial youth in young adulthood, which was confirmed; and~b! to examine the correlates of lower levels of antisocial offending among AOs and EOPs in the transition to adulthood. As expected, AOs were more likely than EOPs to desist by age 23. Nonetheless, positive work and romantic involvement between the ages of 21 and 23 were significantly associated with less externalizing problems for EOPs, but not AOs. In addition, illicit substance use and deviant peer association proved to be associated with externalizing problems at age 23, irrespective of the patterning of young adults' antisocial behavior in childhood and adolescence. Results suggest that the unique opportunities available in the transition to adulthood may hold particular promise for youth with persistently troubled early histories.

Sibling influence on the learning and enactment of aggressive behavior has been consistently demonstrated in studies of sibling relationships. Available evidence suggests that, compared with nonaggressive children's sibling interactions, the sibling interactions of aggressive children are marked by more frequent, intense, and prolonged aggressive behaviors. Although research on normative and aggressive children's sibling interactions has increased recently, a number of limitations in this literature were addressed in this study by: (1) including both an aggressive and nonaggressive comparison group, (2) examining both positive and negative features of sibling relationships, (3) employing a multimethod/multiinformant approach to data collection, and (4) utilizing an improved self-report method. In support of our hypotheses and consistent with previous research, results showed that aggressive children's sibling relationships were marked by higher levels of observed conflict and lower levels of self-reported positive features. When gender was examined, results showed that older brother/younger sister dyads were characterized by higher levels of negative features and lower levels of positive features.

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