Utility of Elementary School TOCA-R Scores in Identifying Later Criminal Court Violence Among Adolescent Females

• NCJ Number: 210947
• Journal: Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 44 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2005 Pages: 790-797
• Author(s): Hanno Petras Ph.D.; Nicholas Ialongo Ph.D.; Sharon F. Lambert Ph.D.; Sandra Barrueco Ph.D.; Cindy M. Schaeffer Ph.D.; Howard Chilcoat Sc.D.; Sheppard Kellam M.D.
• Date Published: August 2005
• Length: 8 pages
• Grant Number(s): RO1MH42968-11; R49CCR318627
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study evaluated the feasibility of using the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (TOCA-R) to identify aggression in elementary-school-age girls that places them at risk for future criminal violence.

Abstract

The TOCA-R is a structured interview schedule completed by teachers as an assessment of a child's adaptation to classroom tasks over the past 3 weeks. Sample items from the aggressive/disruptive subscale are breaks rules, harms others and property, breaks things, takes others' property, and fights. The TOCA-R was used to obtain teacher ratings of aggression for 845 girls in 19 Baltimore urban public elementary schools. The TOCA-R was administered in the fall and spring of first grade and then annually in the spring as the girls progressed through fifth grade. Juvenile court records from Baltimore City were used to determine the frequency and nature of criminal convictions for the sample during adolescence (through age 18). Violent offenses included assault, murder, rape, and arson. Of the 845 girls, 6.4 percent had a court record for at least 1 violent offense. The two most frequent violent offenses were assault (72.2 percent) and malicious destruction (13 percent). TOCA-R scores in grades one through five were found to be strong and consistent predictors of violence in adolescence, with a high score in the fifth grade being a particularly strong predictor. This study supports previous findings that early levels of aggression are significantly associated with later youth violence in girls; however, consideration must be given to classification errors for those who have the outcome (false negatives) and for those who do not (false positives). The authors argue that the screening scenario in which false negatives and positives are equally important is most appropriate. 4 tables and 41 references