Early Adolescent Risk Behavior Outcomes of Childhood Externalizing Behavioral Trajectories

Abstract

Little is known about the early childhood indicators of adolescent risk. The link between trajectories of externalizing behavioral problems and early adolescent risk behavior was examined in a longitudinal sample of 875 child participants in the LONGSCAN studies. Five trajectory groups of children defined by externalizing behavior problems were identified: Low, Low-Medium, Moderate, Increasing-High, and High. After controlling for demographics and maltreatment, violent/delinquent behavior was significantly predicted by membership in the Moderate and Increasing-High problem behavior groups. Substance use in early adolescence was significantly predicted by membership in the High behavior problem group. These findings suggest that there is a great deal of continuity between patterns of externalizing behavior in childhood and risk-taking in early adolescence. Understanding the course of externalizing behavior in childhood can help identify children at particular risk for more serious behavioral problems in early adolescence.

Autonomy and Relatedness in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood: Relationships with Parental Support and Psychological Distress

“…Moreover, as hypothesized, emerging adults were found to report lower levels of anxiety and depression than adolescents, but differently than hypothesized, they did not diverge from teens in the reported levels of externalizing behavioral problems, stress, and feelings of loneliness. The findings concerning the differences seem to corroborate results of previous studies (Thompson et al 2011) showing that adolescence can be considered as a developmental period during which psychological distress is more frequent than the later phases of the life cycle; emerging adulthood may therefore be viewed as a time of improving psychological well-being. In this direction, we found that age differences for some forms of internalizing problems (specifically, anxiety, and depression) are more noticeable in adolescence than in emerging adulthood.…”

Outcomes of childhood conduct problem trajectories in early adulthood: findings from the ALSPAC study

“…As noted above, not all previous studies showed this pattern [7, 8]. Importantly, the majority of studies on the topic is based on high-risk samples (bar Moffitt et al and Odgers et al [4, 5]), which opens the possibility that associations between developmental trajectories and problem outcomes are both consequences of (earlier) risk or otherwise confounded and limited in generalizability.…”

Academic Aspirations as a Moderator of the Link Between Negative Life Events and Delinquency in a Sample of Latino Youth

“…Youth who exhibit externalizing behaviors are at-risk for incarceration, lower graduation rates, and serious mental illness in adolescence and adulthood (Bierman et al, 2013;Brook, Brook, Rubenstone, Zhang, & Sarr, 2011;Thompson et al, 2011). Therefore, there is vast research on factors that contribute to delinquent behaviors, such as NLEs, so that effective prevention and intervention programs can be developed.…”