Early language and intelligence development and their relationship to future criminal behavior.

Abstract

The relationship between intelligence, measured regularly from the ages of 3 to 17 years, and registered criminality was investigated for boys (N = 122) in a birth-to-maturity study. Significant negative correlations appeared at several ages, even for intelligence assessed as early as at the age of 3. The hypothesis was advanced that the early language development of the boys would be negatively associated with future criminality. Information on language development, obtained by applying the Brunet-Lézine psychomotor developmental test for infants, substantiated this hypothesis. Significant correlations with registered criminality appeared for language development at 6, 18, and 24 months. Further support for the hypothesized link was provided by psychologists' ratings of children's verbal behavior and by maternal reports of their child's speech at the ages 3 to 5. The role of early language retardation in contributing to later criminality is discussed.

An investigation of the correlations between aggression, impulsiveness, social problem‐solving, and alcohol use

“…Good social problem-solving skills have been shown to be related to Openness, one of Costa and McCrae's [1992] Big Five personality traits that is indicative of intelligence [McMurran et al, 2001], and intelligence itself is protective against offending [Stattin and Klackenberg-Larsson, 1993]. There are no direct relationships evident between impulsivity and aggression or between impulsivity and drinking, as were expected.…”

The Role of Maternal Education and Nonmaternal Care Services in the Prevention of Children's Physical Aggression Problems

“…14,42 The proximal mechanism may be related to the provision of positive social interactions with same-age peers at a time when PA is on a steep rise, 43,44 but it may also be because of the general quality of adult care, including cognitive stimulation and language development. 45,46 The present study has a number of strengths: (1) a large sample size representative of a population in which risk factors for PA problems resemble those of most previous studies, 8,19,47 (2) annual assessments from early infancy to school entry, and (3) reliable and valid assessments of both child and family characteristics. However, some limitations should be noted.…”

Classroom Sound Field Amplification Systems for Language Development During Early School Years In Contexts Of Socio-Economic Exclusion: The Neglected Role Of Classroom Contextual Dimensions

“…Language impairment, especially receptive type one, is a risk factor for the onset of emotional behavioural difficulties in mid-childhood (Botting & ComtiRamsden, 2000) and a risk factor for correlates of early school leaving such as engagement in disruptive behaviour, with language problems reported to have an impact on the domains of conduct disturbance, antisocial behaviour and mental health issues, although not in a simple causal way (Rutter, Giller & Hagell, 1998;Rutter, 2003). Some researchers found a high prevalence of specific language impairment in psychiatric samples (Beitchman, Nair, Clegg & Ferguson, 1986;Cohen, 2007) while others found an association between preschool patterns of language development and future crime engagement (Stattin and Klackenberg-Larsson, 1993). Rates of language impairment are reported to reach 24% to 65% in samples of children identified as exhibiting disruptive behaviors (Benasich, Curtiss, & Tallal, 1993) and 59% to 80% of preschool-and schoolage children identified as exhibiting disruptive behaviors also exhibit language delays (Beitchman, Nair, Clegg, Ferguson, & Patel, 1996;Brinton & Fujiki, 1993;Stevenson, Richman, & Graham, 1985).…”