Males on the life-course-persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial pathways: follow-up at age 26 years.
This article reports a comparison on outcomes of 26-year-old males who were defined several years ago in the Dunedin longitudinal study as exhibiting childhood-onset versus adolescent-onset antisocial behavior and who were indistinguishable on delinquent offending in adolescence. Previous studies of these groups in childhood and adolescence showed that childhood-onset delinquents had inadequate parenting, neurocognitive problems, undercontrolled temperament, severe hyperactivity, psychopathic personality traits, and violent behavior. Adolescent-onset delinquents were not distinguished by these features. Here followed to age 26 years, the childhood-onset delinquents were the most elevated on psychopathic personality traits, mental-health problems, substance dependence, numbers of children, financial problems, work problems, and drug-related and violent crime, including violence against women and children. The adolescent-onset delinquents at 26 years were less extreme but elevated on impulsive personality traits, mental-health problems, substance dependence, financial problems, and property offenses. A third group of men who had been aggressive as children but not very delinquent as adolescents emerged as low-level chronic offenders who were anxious, depressed, socially isolated, and had financial and work problems. These findings support the theory of life-course-persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial behavior but also extend it. Findings recommend intervention with all aggressive children and with all delinquent adolescents, to prevent a variety of maladjustments in adult life.
Moffitt
Terrie E
TE
University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. t.moffitt@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Caspi
Avshalom
A
Harrington
Honalee
H
Milne
Barry J
BJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010553:Personality Development; D011610:Psychosocial Deprivation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012951:Socialization; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data