Affiliation with antisocial peers, susceptibility to peer influence, and antisocial behavior during the transition to adulthood.

Developmental theories suggest that affiliation with deviant peers and susceptibility to peer influence are important contributors to adolescent delinquency, but it is unclear how these variables impact antisocial behavior during the transition to adulthood, a period when most delinquent individuals decline in antisocial behavior. Using data from a longitudinal study of 1,354 antisocial youth, the present study examined how individual variation in exposure to deviant peers and resistance to peer influence affect antisocial behavior from middle adolescence into young adulthood (ages 14 to 22 years). Whereas we find evidence that antisocial individuals choose to affiliate with deviant peers, and that affiliating with deviant peers is associated with an individual’s own delinquency, these complementary processes of selection and socialization operate in different developmental periods. In middle adolescence, both selection and socialization serve to make peers similar in antisocial behavior, but from ages 16 to 20 years, only socialization appears to be important. After age 20, the impact of peers on antisocial behavior disappears as individuals become increasingly resistant to peer influence, suggesting that the process of desistance from antisocial behavior may be tied to normative changes in peer relations that occur as individuals mature socially and emotionally. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aggression toward female partners by at-risk young men: The contribution of male adolescent friendships.

Deviancy training was examined as a risk factor for physical and psychological aggression toward a female partner among boys and young men in the Oregon Youth Study. Hostile talk about women during videotaped male friendship interactions was hypothesized to indicate a process by which aggression toward women is reinforced within male peer networks. Both antisocial behavior and hostile talk were predicted to be associated with later aggression toward a female partner. Prospective developmental models were tested from 9–10 years of age through young adulthood. Findings indicated that the relation of deviant peer association in adolescence and later aggression toward a partner was mediated by antisocial behavior; observed hostile talk about women with male peers explained additional variance in aggression toward a partner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bright, bad, babyfaced boys: appearance stereotypes do not always yield self-fulfilling prophecy effects

Three studies tested the hypothesis that babyfaced adolescent boys would compensate for the undesirable expectation that they will exhibit childlike traits by behaving contrary to it. Studies 1 and 2 revealed that babyfaced boys from middle- and lower class samples, including a sample of delinquents, showed higher academic achievement than their mature-faced peers, refuting the stereotype of babyfaced people as intellectually weak. In the lower class samples, this compensation effect was moderated by IQ and socioeconomic status (SES), variables that influence the ability to overcome low expectations. Study 3 showed that babyfaceness also can produce negative compensatory behaviors. Low-SES babyfaced boys were more likely than their mature-faced peers to be delinquent, and babyfaced delinquents committed more crimes, refuting the stereotype of babyfaced people as warm, submissive, and physically weak.     

Parenting, peers, and the stability of antisocial behavior in preadolescent boys.

This study examined the linkages between parental discipline practices, peer relationships, and antisocial behavior in a 2-yr longitudinal study (N?=?206) of preadolescent boys (aged 9–10 yrs at 1st assessment). Structural equation models were used to estimate the stability of parenting, peer relations, and antisocial constructs, and their effects on each other. The results showed that preadolescent antisocial behavior had substantial concurrent negative effects on the quality of parental discipline and peer relationships. Evidence for a reciprocal relationship between parental discipline and child antisocial behavior was found. The study specifies how parental discipline practices are involved in maintaining the stability of antisocial behavior in preadolescents. Low popularity with peers did not directly influence the child's antisocial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent dispositions for antisocial behavior in context: The roles of neighborhood dangerousness and parental knowledge.

This study examined an ecological perspective on the development of antisocial behavior during adolescence, examining direct, additive, and interactive effects of child and both parenting and community factors in relation to youth problem behavior. To address this goal, the authors examined early adolescent dispositional qualities as predictors of boys’ antisocial behavior within the context of parents’ knowledge of adolescent activities and neighborhood dangerousness. Antisocial behavior was examined using a multimethod latent construct that included self-reported delinquency, symptoms of conduct disorder, and court petitions in a sample of 289 boys from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds who were followed longitudinally from early childhood through adolescence. Results demonstrated direct and additive findings for child prosociality, daring, and negative emotionality, which were qualified by interactions between daring and neighborhood dangerousness, and between prosociality and parental knowledge. The findings have implications for preventive intervention approaches that address the interplay of dispositional and contextual factors to prevent delinquent behavior in adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in the perception of interpersonal relationships in successfully treated adolescent delinquent boys.

Successful psychotherapy with adolescent delinquent boys revealed significant improvement in the perception of interpersonal relationships on thematic stories to pictures selected to measure 3 areas of personality functioning (self-image, control of aggression, and attitude toward authority). People in the stories were seen as having more highly differentiated roles and relationships. These changes were highly correlated with improved academic performance (revealed on achievement tests) and improvement in overt behavior (reduction in antisocial behavior and better employment history). The results are consistent with many views regarding the nature of personality change in psychotherapy and strongly indicate that improvement in the perception of interpersonal relationships is associated with higher levels of overall performance and integration. Exactly how these changes are brought about during psychotherapy still remains to be explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent and family predictors of physical aggression, communication, and satisfaction in young adult couples: A prospective analysis.

This study tested a model wherein the family conflict, depression, and antisocial behavior of 254 adolescents (mean age?=?17 years; 63% female) are prospectively related to functioning within a marital (51 %) or dating relationship in young adulthood (mean age?=?23 years). Family aversive communication in adolescence and adolescent antisocial behavior predicted couple physical aggression. Family aversive communication predicted dyadic satisfaction and aversive couple communication for married women and dating men. Among those with partners who reported little antisocial behavior, adolescent antisocial behavior inversely predicted couple satisfaction and facilitative behavior. Partner antisocial behavior did not mediate the relation between adolescent characteristics and couple functioning. Findings emphasize the importance of the early family environment and psychopathology of the adolescent in the development of adaptive couple relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation between social problems and substance use in adolescent boys: An investigation of potential moderators.

This study investigated the relation between social problems and adolescent male substance use in the context of other potential moderating variables. Two hundred eighty adolescent boys completed measures of social problems, cognitive distortions, constructive thinking, affiliation with delinquent peers, and multiple aspects of substance use. Results revealed that social problems were not directly related to most substance use variables. Cognitive distortions moderated the relation between social problems and substance use in social situations, such that the relation was significant only at high levels of cognitive distortions. Constructive thinking and affiliation with delinquent peers were both related to substance use, but neither served a moderating function. It is concluded that the widely accepted relation between social difficulties and adolescent male substance use may be better understood in the context of cognitive variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multisystemic treatment of juvenile offenders: Effects on adolescent behavior and family interaction.

57 delinquent adolescents received family ecological treatment, 23 delinquent adolescents received an alternative treatment, and 44 normal adolescents served as developmental controls. The mean age of the adolescents at pretreatment was 14.8 yrs. Pre- and posttreatment assessments were conducted with the adolescent and his/her parents. Measures included the Behavior Problem Checklist, the Eysenck Personality Inventory, and self-report and observational measures of family relations. Ss who received family ecological treatment evidenced significant decreases in conduct problems, anxious-withdrawn behaviors, immaturity, and association with delinquent peers. The mother–adolescent and marital relations in these families were significantly warmer, and Ss were significantly more involved in family interaction. In contrast, the families who received the alternative treatment evidenced no positive change and showed deterioration in affective relations. The normal families manifested relationship changes that were consistent with those identified by investigators of normal adolescent development. Findings support a multisystemic model of behavior disorders and treatment. (59 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical aggression in a community sample of at-risk young couples: Gender comparisons for high frequency, injury, and fear.

The associations of frequent physical aggression, injury, and fear were examined for a community-based sample of at-risk young couples who were dating, cohabiting, or married. It was hypothesized that frequent physical aggression toward a partner, in the range of shelter samples, is largely caused by antisocial behavior and mutual couple conflict and, thus, that there would be greater similarity across genders in such behavior than has previously been supposed. It was also predicted that levels of injury and fear would be higher in women but that some men would experience these impacts. Findings indicated similarity across genders both in the prevalence of frequent aggression and in its association with antisocial behavior. Furthermore, such aggression was likely to be bidirectional in couples. Contrary to the hypothesis of the study, rates of injury and fear for the women were not significantly higher than for the men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mediating Teacher Liking and Moderating Authoritative Teachering on Chinese Adolescents' Perceptions of Antisocial and Prosocial Behaviors.

The authors present a model of adolescents' peer relations in the classroom that integrates 3 social processes involving the adolescent students, the classroom teacher, and peers. One of the hypotheses was that teacher liking of students mediated the relation between students' social behaviors (e.g.. antisocial disruption and prosocial leadership) and peer acceptance. This mediating teacher influence was also hypothesized to be moderated by the extent to which adolescent students perceived their teacher to be authoritative in teachering. These hypotheses were tested and supported on the basis of a sample of 659 Chinese middle school students. A discussion of these results focuses on the classroom teacher as a social context in the study of children's social interactions in the classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Older siblings benefit from a family-based preventive intervention for preschoolers at risk for conduct problems.

This study evaluated sibling effects of a family-based intervention aimed at preventing conduct problems in preschool-age siblings of adjudicated youths. Ninety-two families of preschoolers who had older siblings adjudicated for delinquent acts were randomly assigned to intervention and control conditions. Of these, 47 families had nontargeted school-age (5-11 years) or adolescent siblings (12-17 years) living at home. These families were considered in this report. The authors hypothesized group differences on antisocial behavior and positive peer relations for older siblings of targeted preschoolers. The authors examined outcomes of parent- and teacher-reported behavior immediately postintervention and 8 months postintervention. Findings revealed significant intervention effects 8 months following intervention for adolescent siblings on parent-reported antisocial behavior and positive peer relations. Teacher reports confirmed group differences for antisocial behavior immediately postintervention. Findings document benefits for adolescent siblings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment and autonomy as predictors of the development of social skills and delinquency during midadolescence.

This study examined adolescent attachment organization as a predictor of the development of social skills and delinquent behavior during midadolescence. Delinquent activity and skill levels were assessed for 117 moderately at-risk adolescents at ages 16 and 18, and maternal and adolescent attachment organization and autonomy in interactions were assessed at age 16. Adolescent attachment security predicted relative increases in social skills from age 16 to 18, whereas an insecure-preoccupied attachment organization predicted increasing delinquency during this period. In addition, preoccupied teens interacting with highly autonomous mothers showed greater relative decreases in skill levels and increases in delinquent activity over time, suggesting a heightened risk for deviance among preoccupied teens who may be threatened by growing autonomy in adolescent-parent interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early disruptive behavior, poor school achievement, delinquent behavior, and delinquent personality: Longitudinal analyses.

Three alternative models concerning the causal links between early disruptive behavior, poor school achievement, and delinquent behavior or antisocial personality were tested with linear structural equation modeling. Ss were boys and girls followed from 1st grade to age 14 yrs. Disruptive behavior was assessed in Grade 1; school achievement was assessed in Grades 1 and 4; delinquent behavior and antisocial personality were assessed at age 14 yrs. With regard to self-reported delinquent behavior at age 14 yrs, results indicate that the best model for boys was a direct causal link between Grade 1 disruptive behavior and delinquent behavior. Poor school achievement was not a necessary causal factor. For girls, none of the tested models were a good fit to the delinquent behavior data. As for delinquent personality, results indicate that, for boys and girls, poor school achievement was a necessary component of the causal path between Grade 1 disruptive behavior and age 14 delinquent personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distinct contributions of conduct and oppositional defiant symptoms to adult antisocial behavior: evidence from an adoption study

BACKGROUND: We conducted an exploratory multivariate analysis of juvenile behavior symptoms in an adoption data set. One goal was to see if a few DSM-interpretable symptom dimensions economically captured information within the data. A second goal was to study the relationships between any such dimensions, biological and environmental background, and eventual adult antisocial behavior. METHODS: The data originated from a retrospective adoption study. Probands with a biological background for parental antisocial personality or alcoholism were heavily oversampled. Symptoms were ascertained by proband and adoptive parent interview. We performed, by gender, orthogonal rotated principal component analyses of juvenile behavior disturbance symptoms (females, n = 87; males, n = 88). We used structural equation modeling to examine the relationships hypothesized above. RESULTS: For both genders, an oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) component and at least 1 conduct component emerged. Regardless of the conduct component scores, the ODD components were significant predictors of adult antisocial behavior. For males, the ODD component was predicted by an antisocial biological background, but not by scores on the Adverse Adoptive Environment Scale. The conduct components were predicted by adoptive environment alone. For females, biological background or biological-environmental interactions predicted each of the components. CONCLUSIONS: There has been little previous distinction between conduct disorder and ODD in studies of genetic and environmental influences on juvenile behavior. The study suggests that adolescent ODD symptoms may be a distinct antecedent of adult antisocial personality. In males, adolescent ODD symptoms may represent early expression of genetic sociopathic personality traits.     

Cognitive problem-solving skills training and parent management training in the treatment of antisocial behavior in children.

Evaluated the effects of problem-solving skills training (PSST) and parent management training (PMT) on 97 children (aged 7–13 yrs) referred for severe antisocial behavior. Children and families were assigned randomly to 1 of 3 conditions: PSST, PMT, or PSST and PMT combined. It was predicted that (1) each treatment would improve child functioning (reduce overall deviance and aggressive, antisocial, and delinquent behavior, and increase prosocial competence); and (2) PSST and PMT combined would lead to more marked, pervasive, and durable changes in child functioning and greater changes in parent functioning (parental stress, depression, and overall symptoms). Expectations were supported by results at posttreatment and 1-yr follow-up. PSST and PMT combined led to more marked changes in child and parent functioning and placed a greater proportion of youth within the range of nonclinic (normative) levels of functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The minimizing of blaming attributions and behaviors in delinquent families.

Parents' data were evaluated in three studies of families with a delinquent adolescent. Families were provided with different forms of a positive versus negative interactional (attributional) context. Study 1 demonstrated that the negative context elicited significantly more negative behaviors than did the positive context when parents interacted with each other and with their delinquent adolescent. Study 2 demonstrated that the dispositional attributions of parents were influenced by the manipulation of set, with a dissatisfied set producing negative blaming attributions and a satisfied set producing nonblaming, positive attributions. Study 3 demonstrated that parents' negative sets regarding their adolescent's negative behaviors, once established and discussed by the family for 5 min, were unresponsive to a subsequent positive reattribution regarding those behaviors. Taken together, the data provide some support for reattribution techniques such as relabeling. Yet, the data question the ease with which such techniques can be successful and challenge proponents of such techniques to develop methodologically sound empirical demonstrations of their effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic contributions to continuity, change, and co-occurrence of antisocial and depressive symptoms in adolescence

In adolescence, antisocial and depressive symptoms are moderately stable and modestly correlated with each other. We examined the genetic and environmental origins of the stability and change of antisocial and depressive symptoms and their co-occurrence cross-sectionally and longitudinally in a national sample of 405 adolescents. Monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins and full, half, and unrelated siblings 10-18 years of age from non-divorced and step-families were studied over a 3-year period. Composite measures of adolescent self-reports, parent reports, and observational measures of antisocial and depressive symptoms were analysed in multivariate behavioural genetic models. Results indicated that the majority of the stability in and co-occurrence between dimensions could be accounted for by genetic factors. Non-shared environmental risks and, for antisocial symptoms, shared environmental risks also contributed to the stability. Genetic influences on change were observed, but only for antisocial behaviour. In addition, the longitudinal association between antisocial behavioural and later depressive symptoms was also found to be genetically mediated, but this effect was nonsignificant after controlling for stability. Results were discussed in light of the potential contributions of development behavioural genetic research in understanding individual differences in the stability and change of maladjustment.     

"Low prosocial attachment, involvement with drug-using peers, and adolescent drug use: A longitudinal examination of mediational mechanisms": Correction to Henry (2008).

Reports an error in "Low prosocial attachment, involvement with drug-using peers, and adolescent drug use: A longitudinal examination of mediational mechanisms" by Kimberly L. Henry (Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 2008[Jun], Vol 22[2], 302-308). In Table 2, several numbers were missing negative signs due to a typesetting error. The correct version of Table 2 is presented in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2008-06772-016.) The process of disengagement from prosocial entities (e.g., family and school) and either simultaneous or subsequent engagement with antisocial entities (e.g., friends who use drugs) is a critical contributor to adolescent drug use and delinquency. This study provides a series of formal mediation tests to demonstrate the relationship between poor family attachment, poor school attachment, involvement with friends who use drugs, and a student's own use of drugs. Results indicate that poor family attachment exerts its effect on drug use through poor school attachment and involvement with friends who use drugs. In addition, poor school attachment exerts its effect on drug use through involvement with friends who use drugs. The results of this study corroborate theories that suggest disengagement from prosocial entities is associated with involvement with antisocial entities and eventual involvement in drug use. Implications for prevention strategies are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)