The development of violence from age 8 to 61.

Abstract

The main aim of this study is to investigate the development of violence from childhood to adulthood. In the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD), 411 London males have been followed up from age 8 to 48 in interviews, and from age 10 to 61 in criminal records; 19% were convicted for violence. There was a surprising amount of violence committed at older ages (40-61). The number of violence convictions was similar at ages 10-20, 21-39, and 40-61. There was considerable continuity in violent offending from ages 10-20 to 40-61. There was also continuity in self-reported violence from ages 15-18 to 43-48, and violence convictions were related to self-reported violence at all ages. The most important childhood risk factors for violence convictions were high daring or risk-taking, low verbal intelligence, a disrupted family, harsh parental discipline, high hyperactivity, and large family size. The extent to which these risk factors predicted violence at ages 40-61 was noteworthy. The "integrated cognitive antisocial potential (ICAP)" theory was proposed to explain the development of violence, and methods of preventing violence, targeting childhood risk factors, were reviewed.