Post-traumatic stress disorder and having antisocial peers in adolescence are risk factors for the development of antisocial personality disorder

Abstract

Antisocial personality disorder is a mental illness that is a major public health concern. Both post-traumatic stress disorder and association with antisocial peers have been found to be associated with increased risk for diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. Despite this, past research has yet to examine the interrelatedness of these three constructs from a developmental perspective. This study sought to examine the effect of post-traumatic stress disorder in adolescence on the risk for antisocial personality disorder diagnosis in adulthood and the relevance of differences in developmental patterns of degree of association with antisocial peers in adolescence as an additional risk factor. The Pathways to Desistance data were used in analyses, comprising the longitudinal responses of 1,354 juvenile offenders who had recently been adjudicated for a serious offense prior to baseline measurement. Logistic regression was used to examine these relationships. Ever meeting criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder in adolescence significantly increased the odds of developing antisocial personality disorder in adulthood. This effect was no longer significant upon inclusion of variables pertaining to association with antisocial peers. Implications are discussed.