NCJ Number
214049
Journal
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 45 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2006 Pages: 578-586
Date Published
May 2006
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This Finnish longitudinal study identified childhood predictors of criminality in late adolescence.
Abstract
The authors emphasize the importance of effective interventions for children who show or are influenced by the factors that predict criminality in late adolescence. According to Finland's National Police Register, 22.2 percent of the 2,713 Finnish boys born in 1981 had at least 1 criminal offense other than a minor traffic violation over the 4-year study period. The following factors present when a boy was 8 years old independently predicted a high level (more than five) of offending in late adolescence: living in a nonintact family, low education level for parents, parent report of conduct problems, and teacher reports of hyperactivity problems when the child was 8 years old. Low parental education level and parent or teacher report of conduct problems independently predicted violent, property, traffic, and drunk-driving offenses. Teacher reports of hyperactivity problems independently predicted all types of criminal offenses except drunk driving. Self-reports of bullying others independently predicted violent offenses. Information on the boys' problem behaviors when they were 8 years old was obtained from parents, teachers, and the children themselves. The follow-up information on criminal offenses was obtained from the National Police Register between the years 1998 and 2001, when the subjects were 16 to 20 years old. 3 tables and 29 references