NCJ Number
229050
Date Published
2008
Length
270 pages
Annotation
This study examined a wide variety of measures regarding the onset of both mental disorders and violent behaviors simultaneously in children using prospective data, thereby contributing to the identification of specific mental health factors in childhood and adolescence that may lead to violence and the continuance of serious offending over the life course.
Abstract
Key findings spotlight the ability of specific childhood and adolescent mental health problems to predict types of serious offending behaviors in juveniles. In addition, the adoption of the DSM-oriented (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) scales allowed for meaningful estimations regarding the probability of serious theft and violence in youngsters with sub-threshold and clinical levels of psychopathological problems. Thirdly the availability of parent and teacher reports from the Pittsburgh Youth Study (PYS) allowed for valuable cross-informant comparisons. Lastly, although several socioeconomic status (SES) and race effects emerged, these findings need to be viewed cautiously. The primary goal of this study was to determine the "reach" of selected childhood and adolescent mental health problems in the prediction of serious offending behaviors throughout childhood and adolescence. The study tested 24 logistic regression models to determine the role of parent and teacher reports of Oppositional Defiant Problems (ODP), Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Problems (ADHP), anxiety problems, and affective problems (from middle childhood throughout late adolescence). While focused primarily around the prediction of violence, the study also included serious theft behaviors. This study contributes to the literature on the etiology of violence on numerous levels, and the findings have the potential to offer valuable insight into whether the development of mental illness may predate other negative outcomes, such as aggressive behaviors at younger ages. Figures, tables, appendixes, references, and index