Childhood-onset versus adolescent-onset antisocial conduct problems in males: Natural history from ages 3 to 18 years

Abstract

We report data that support the distinction between childhood-onset and adolescent-onset type conduct problems. Natural histories are described from a representative birth cohort of 457 males studied longitudinally from age 3 to 18 years. Childhood-and adolescent-onset cases differed on temperament as early as age 3 years, but almost half of childhood-onset cases did not become seriously delinquent. Type comparisons were consistent with our contention that males whose antisocial behavior follows a life-course-pcrsistent path differ from males who follow an adolescence-limited path. As adolescents, the two types differed on convictions for violent crime, personality profiles, school leaving, and bonds to family. These differences can be attributed to developmental history because the two groups were well matched on measures of antisocial conduct at age 18 years: parent-reports, self-reports, and adjudication records. By age 18 years, many conduct-problem boys had encountered factors that could ensnare them in an antisocial future: substance dependence, unsafe sex, dangerous driving habits, delinquent friends, delinquent perceptions, and unemployment. Implications for theory, research design, prevention, and therapeutic treatment of conduct problems are highlighted.Theantisocial behavior of adolescents bears in the face of evidence that most serious serious consequences for individuals, fami-property and violent crimes are now cornlies, communities, and society. The general mitted by teenaged offenders and evidence public has forsaken its credulous notions that almost all violent and predatory adult of "teenaged hijinks" and "boyish pranks" antisocial careers originate in juvenile conduct problems. Despite a sense of urgency -.about reducing adolescent antisocial behavThis research was supported by USPHS Grant MH-j o r > scientific progress toward that goal has to T. Moffitt from the Violence and Traumatic h a m p e r e d by great diversity inherent stress Branch of the National Institute of Mentalr j i , Health and by the William Freeman Vilas Trust at the within the broad class of adolescents who University of Wisconsin. The Dunedin Multidiscipli-engage in antisocial behaviors. Apportionnary Health and Development Research Unit is sup-j n g this heterogeneity into meaningful subported by the New Zealand Health Research Council. t y p e s n a s ^e n the focus of much taxonomic Gee, and Charlotte Paul, and the New Zealand Police Motfitt, 1993a; Quay, 1987). generously shared data with us. We arc grateful to our " Developmentalists are now reaching a staff, and to the study members and their parents and consensus that antisocial behavior follows tcac l 1 " sat least two primary developmental courses, Address correspondence and reprint requests to: ... , . , , , , "_ "_,. t u~. ~tu*.m,uu Terrie E. Moffitt, University of Wisconsin-Madison, o n e W l t h childhood-onset and the other with Dpt. of Psychology, 1202 W.Johnson St.. Madison, later, generally postpubertal onset (e.g., 53706. Farrington et al., 1990; Loeber &...

Conduct problems trajectories and psychosocial outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Our finding that the EOP trajectory had the highest risk of poor early adult outcomes is consistent with previous reports. It has been posited [19] that EOP individuals differ from AO individuals in terms of negative predisposing genetic factors and early neurocognitive characteristics. More recent studies have also shown that these individuals present with increased levels of environmental risk factors in prenatal stages [13] and early age [36].…”

“…Early risk factors also account for AO individuals, particularly parental instability [16], low IQ and under controlled temperament [17]. Concomitant risk factors in adolescents with conduct problems include high-risk sexual behaviour, high levels of academic difficulties, and substance use [18,19]. Regarding CL individuals, previous research showed that risk factors are similar to those seen in EOP such as maltreatment, family conflict, and maternal maladjustment [4,20] but present with lower levels compared to EOP.…”

Etiological heterogeneity in the development of antisocial behavior: the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development and the Young Adult Follow-Up

“…Life-course-persistent antisocial behavior is also associated with a different set of childhood variables (Moffitt, 1990;Moffitt et al 1996;Moffitt & Caspi, 2001), and antisocial behavior co-morbid with ADHD shows a different profile of family risk factors (Lahey et al 1988;Moffitt, 1990;Barkley et al 1991;Hinshaw, 1994;Faraone et al 1995) and a more severe prognosis (Moffitt, 1990). The co-morbid type that begins earlier may also be more strongly genetically influenced (Silberg et al 1996).…”

Developmental Links Between Trajectories of Physical Violence, Vandalism, Theft, and Alcohol-Drug Use from Childhood to Adolescence

“…Amongst other youth, however, the onset of antisocial behavior occurs in adolescence and is believed to be relatively more common, limited to adolescence and early adulthood, and with less gender disparity when compared to early onset pathway (Moffitt 1993). Moffitt and colleagues Moffitt et al 1996Moffitt et al , 2002 used longitudinal data and identified youth following the childhood or the adolescent onset path of ASB. In accordance with the theory, these researchers showed that although 5-10% of children first engage in ASB in childhood, a considerably larger percentage starts in adolescence (26%).…”

“…Specifically, studies that supported the childhood vs. adolescent onset distinction often lumped different forms of ASB into a single score. Although the specific items differed across studies, the ASB scores in each study were comprised of various behaviors including oppositional behavior, physical aggression, vandalism, and property offenses (Fergusson and Horwood 2002;Moffitt et al 1996Moffitt et al , 2002van Lier et al 2007). These different behaviors, however, may have specific developmental courses Tremblay 2003).…”