Cambridge Study Research Articles

One psychopathic route to an unsuccessful life. Psychopathy and life outcomes in Generation 3 of the Cambridge study in delinquent development

PurposeThis study aims to examine whether psychopathic traits are associated with “unsuccessful” life outcomes in a community sample. While it is not easy to define what a successful life is, as it varies by context and developmental stage, there is a consensus in psychological research on what constitutes an unsuccessful life, as measured by the revised Unsuccessful Life Scale. This concept of unsuccessful life encompasses areas such as family and health, alcohol and drug use and work and job satisfaction, which, when compromised, are essential components of an unsuccessful 21st-century life.Design/methodology/approachThe study continues the work carried out in the prospective longitudinal Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development by including the offspring (n = 551 G3 females and males) of the original 411 G2 males.FindingsA small proportion of G3 individuals (6.5%, n = 36) were having an unsuccessful life, and 23.3% (n = 124) of them were exhibiting a high level of psychopathic traits as measured by the PCL:SV. The results suggest that some psychopathic traits are an integral part of an unsuccessful mix. For instance, for both males and females, drug use and physical fights were significantly associated with psychopathic traits. However, there were some differences, where a wider range of unsuccessful outcomes was associated with psychopathic traits in males (e.g. unsatisfactory accommodation) compared to females (e.g. unsatisfactory intimate relationships).Originality/valueIt seems that the costs of psychopathic traits outweigh the benefits when it comes to success in life. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Unraveling the Sequences of Risk Factors Underlying the Development of Criminal Behavior

This work aims to investigate the role of sequences of risk factors from childhood to young adulthood in predicting subsequent criminal convictions. This study uses the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD) dataset, a prospective longitudinal research study that followed 411 males from South London from the age of 8 to 61 years. Temporal sequences of risk factors at ages 8–10, 12–14, and 16–18 were analyzed as predictors of subsequent criminal convictions up to the age of 61. Risk factors related to poverty, parenting problems, and children’s risk-taking predisposition at ages 8–10 emerged as prevalent starting points for the most highly predictive developmental sequences leading to convictions. The risk of a criminal conviction significantly increased if these risk factors were followed by low IQ scores or association with delinquent friends at ages 12–14, and by school and professional problems or drug addiction during late adolescence (ages 16–18). At each developmental stage, specific risk factors intricately combine to form chains of risk during development, subsequently predicting criminal convictions. A trajectory-of-risk-need-responsivity approach that identifies and breaks chains of risk factors that generate and enhance favorable conditions for criminal convictions is discussed.

Childhood predictors of successful self-reported delinquents

ABSTRACT The main aim of this research is to investigate the childhood predictors of successful self-reported delinquents, defined as those who were not convicted. In the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD), 411 London males have been followed up from age 8 to age 61. Self-reported offending was measured for the whole sample for ages 10–14, 15–18, 27–32, and 42–47, for five crimes: burglary, theft of a vehicle, theft from a vehicle, shoplifting, and vandalism. The prevalence of self-reported offending was 64% at ages 10–18 and 11% at ages 27–47, compared with the prevalence of convictions of 23% and 8% respectively. Successful self-reported delinquents were defined as those who offended between ages 10 and 18 but were not convicted up to age 26; 126 successful delinquents were compared with 120 convicted delinquents. Sixteen childhood factors, including attainment, self-control, socioeconomic, parental, family and behavioural factors, predicted successful self-reported delinquents. The most important independent predictors were committing less serious and fewer offences as well as high school attainment, unconvicted parents, low risk-taking, and unseparated families.

Interactions Between Child-Rearing and Other Risk Factors in Predicting Delinquency, and Implications for Prevention.

This article aims to identify interactions between harsh discipline and poor supervision and other childhood risk factors (all measured at age 8-10) in predicting delinquency. It analyzes data collected in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD), which is a prospective longitudinal study of 411 London males first assessed at age 8. Of these males, 26% were convicted between ages 10 and 17. Harsh discipline and poor supervision significantly predicted delinquency, as did 16 other childhood risk factors. Generally, harsh discipline predicted delinquency more strongly in the presence of other risk factors, whereas poor supervision predicted delinquency more strongly in the absence of other risk factors. It is suggested that parent training programs targeting harsh discipline should focus particularly on children and families who possess other risk factors, whereas parent training programs targeting poor supervision should focus particularly on children and families who do not possess other risk factors.

Demonstrating the applicability of using GPS and interview data to understand changes in use of space in response to new transport infrastructure: the case of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, UK

IntroductionChanges to the built environment can contribute to behavioural changes at the population level, including increases in physical activity. Evidence for how such interventions affect behaviour through qualitative understanding complements quantitative evidence of effectiveness of interventions, and may help to strengthen the basis for causal inference. We demonstrate the use of objective data to measure changes in spatial patterning of behaviour and physical activity in response to new transport infrastructure, as well as complementary interview data to understand why changes may have occurred. With a case study approach, we show how study design and a combination of data types can afford a stronger, more contextual package of evidence to meet methodological challenges of evaluating changes to the built environment. MethodsLongitudinal questionnaire, GPS, physical activity monitor, and interview data from the Commuting and Health in Cambridge study (2009–2012) were used to understand changes in mobility and physical activity in response to an environmental intervention, the opening of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway. Firstly, aggregate maps were derived to explore the spatial patterning of physical activity before and after the Busway opened. Secondly, changes in the size of activity spaces were described and associations with personal and environmental characteristics investigated to understand whose mobility patterns changed. Lastly, narrative data and maps of movement for two individuals as case studies were used to investigate mechanisms behind use of the intervention and related behavioural changes. Results and conclusionThe Busway provided an alternative route for commuting, an additional space for leisure activity, and a new route for accessing greenspaces which may lead to potential changes in physical activity and wellbeing. Findings from studies which draw on multiple data types may be useful for informing the design and delivery of future public health interventions, an area where methods for evaluation and identification of plausible pathways to behavioural change remain underdeveloped.

Explanatory Risk Factors for Psychopathic Symptoms in Men and Women: Results from Generation 3 of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development

Explanatory Risk Factors for Psychopathic Symptoms in Men and Women: Results from Generation 3 of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development

Being unwanted and other very early predictors of adult psychopathy

PurposeThis paper aims to present new evidence from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD) showing the extent to which obstetric (e.g. abnormal birth weight, confinement at birth, severe abnormality of pregnancy, etc.) and early childhood and family factors (illegitimate child, unwanted conception, family overcrowding, etc.) have predictive effects on psychopathic traits measured later in life at age 48 years.Design/methodology/approachData collected in the CSDD are analysed. This is a prospective longitudinal study of 411 London men from age 8 to age 61 years.FindingsThe results suggest that none of the obstetric problems were predictive of adult psychopathy. However, some other early childhood factors were significant. Unwanted conception (by the mother) was significantly associated with high psychopathy. The likelihood of being an unwanted child was higher when the mother was younger (19 years or less), and when the child was illegitimate. The poor health of the mother and living in an overcrowded family were also significant in predicting psychopathy in adulthood, as well as both psychopathic personality (F1) and psychopathic behaviour (F2).Originality/valueThese findings suggest the influence of very early emotional tensions and problematic social background in predicting psychopathic traits in adulthood (at age 48 years). They also emphasise the importance of investigating further the very early roots of psychopathic traits.

The life course of impulsive males from childhood to adulthood

PurposeThis paper aims to advance knowledge about the life course of impulsive males from childhood to adulthood, based on data collected in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD) from age 8 to 65 and to investigate which factors are related to impulsiveness at different ages.Design/methodology/approachThe CSDD is a prospective longitudinal survey of 411 London males first studied in 1961–1962 at age eight. The males have been assessed face-to-face nine times from age 8 to 48. A total of 77 impulsive boys and 334 non-impulsive boys were identified at ages 8–10 using three measures of impulsiveness: daring/risk-taking (rated by parents and peers), psychomotor clumsiness/impulsivity (based on psychomotor tests of the boys) and poor concentration/restless in class (rated by teachers).FindingsParental, family, socio-economic, academic attainment and behavioural factors in childhood were the most significant variables that were related to impulsiveness at ages 8–10. Impulsive males had low IQ, truancy, high daring and a high antisocial personality score at ages 12–14. No exams passed, and a low socio-economic status job were especially significant at ages 16–18, while poor employment, convictions (especially for violence), anti-establishment attitudes and an unsuccessful life were especially characteristic of impulsive males in adulthood (ages 32–48).Practical implicationsChild skills training programmes are needed to reduce childhood impulsiveness.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first-ever publication that documents the life course of impulsive males from childhood to late adulthood.

The promotive relationship between personality and self-reported offending

ABSTRACT Research has regularly linked the five-factor model (FFM) or ‘Big Five’ personality model to behaviours, including antisocial behaviour and offending. Three of the five factors, namely, low agreeableness, low conscientiousness and high neuroticism, have consistently been identified as important for explaining offending of males and females. These conclusions have generally been based on considering the FFM as linearly related to offending, when the factors of the FFM could act as ‘risk’ factors (those with extreme negative scores having an increased likelihood of offending) or as ‘promotive’ factors (those with extreme positive scores having a decreased likelihood of offending). In this research the effects of the risk and promotive factors of the FFM on self-reported offending of the male and female children of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD) were examined. The results suggested that many of the factors of the FFM were better considered as promotive factors as opposed to risk factors or mixed (linearly related), and that promotive factors independently predicted offending after controlling for parental, social, socioeconomic and school factors. Limitations, directions for future research, and implications for interventions to reduce offending are discussed.

Relationships Between Psychopathy and DSM Personality Disorders in Men and Women.

The current investigation asseses the relationship between DSM personality disorders (PDs) and PCL psychopathy in a community study: the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD). The children (Generation 3) of the original CSDD males (Generation 2) were assessed for PDs and psychopathy in early adulthood. Generation 3 consisted of both males (n = 291) and females (n = 260) and allowed for analyses separately for each gender. Cluster B PDs showed the strongest relationships with psychopathy, especially Borderline and Antisocial PD. Histrionic PD did not appear to have strong relationships with psychopathy, and there were no indications that histrionic PD overlaps with psychopathy in females as past research has hypothesized. There were however some other gender-specific relationships in the analyses, most notably between psychopathy and schizoid and schizotypal PDs for females, and between psychopathy and paranoid PD in males. Implications for the understanding of psychopathy in males and females are discussed.

Understanding How Offending Prevalence and Frequency Change with Age in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development Using Bayesian Statistical Models

Understanding How Offending Prevalence and Frequency Change with Age in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development Using Bayesian Statistical Models

Health of Convicted Persons in the Third Generation of the Longitudinal Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development.

Research suggests that convicted persons are more likely than non-convicted persons to suffer poor health. However, few longitudinal studies have investigated associations between health and offending across generations. Using the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, this article prospectively investigates the relationship between health and offending across generations and between genders. At the average age of 25, third generation convicted males and females reported a higher incidence of serious drug use than non-convicted persons. Convicted males reported a higher incidence of mental illness and self-harm, whereas convicted females reported a lower incidence of physical illness, mental illness, self-harm and hospitalizations when compared to non-convicted females. Convicted males reported a higher incidence of industrial accidents, sports injuries and fight injuries, but a lower incidence of road accidents, whereas convicted females were more likely to report road accidents. Like their fathers, convicted males show worse health compared to non-convicted individuals.

Intergenerational transmission of personality disorder severity and the role of psychosocial risk factors.

Familial influences on the development of many psychopathologies are well recognised, yet the psychosocial risk factors that could help explain apparently intergenerational continuities of personality disorder (PD) are less well understood. To establish whether there is an association between the severity of PD in men and their offspring in a community cohort, and whether factors recognised as having the potential to increase risk of psychopathology mediate this. Participants in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (n=452dyads) were assessed using the Tyrer and Johnson model of PD severity. Severe PD was defined as antisocial PD plus at least one other PD from a different cluster. Original participants were assessed by interview and their offspring by screening questionnaire. Chi-square tests and mediation models were used to investigate the intergenerational continuity of PD severity and its relationship with psychosocial risk factors. An association between severe PD in fathers and severe PD in their offspring was confirmed, regardless of whether the offspring were male or female. Whilst preliminary tests suggested that employment problems, poor parental supervision and family disruption we associated with severe PD in daughters, mediation analysis suggested that these variables had very little effect once severity of father's disorder was in the model. Psychosocial risk factors appear to play a limited role in the intergenerational transmission of PD severity, although future studies should take account of interaction data, for example, quality and quantity of paternal interaction given a child's temperamental traits.

Stability of psychopathy in a prospective longitudinal study: Results from the Cambridge Study in delinquent development.

To further understand psychopathy within a Developmental and Life-Course Criminology perspective, the current article investigates the stability and change in psychopathy from childhood to middle age. The Cambridge Study in delinquent development is a prospective longitudinal study of 411 males, where psychopathy was coded based on contemporanously collected data from young people and in adulthood. Psychopathy in middle age was assessed in a medical interview. The findings indicate a high degree of stability of psychopathy across the life-course. To explain stability and change, childhood factors that might predict this were investigated. Few factors were related to stability and change across the life-course. Poor supervision, poor housing, a large family, and having a convicted father were associated with any change. A depressed mother was associated with a later decrease in psychopathy. This investigation has implications not only for the downward extension of psychopathy to childhood, but also for the understanding of the development of criminal and antisocial behavior.

Criminal Careers and Early Death: Relationships In the Cambridge Study In Delinquent Development

Abstract Prior research shows that convicted and incarcerated persons tend to die early, but this research does not investigate the relationships between criminal career features and early death. The aim of this article is to utilize the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development longitudinal sample of males to study this; 54 males who died early (up to age 65) are compared with 332 males who did not emigrate and did not die early. The results show that convicted offenders, early onset offenders, recidivists and chronic offenders tended to die early, but there were relatively weak relationships between early death and life-course-persistent offenders and career duration. It is concluded that much more research on the relationship between early death and criminal career features is needed, and further tests of criminological theories need to take account of the time at risk of offending.

Mediating the Low Verbal Intelligence–Early Adult Offending Relationship With Pro-Aggression Attitudes

This study was designed to explore a possible mechanism for the well-documented relationship between low verbal intelligence and early adult offending. It was hypothesized that low verbal intelligence, as measured by a brief vocabulary test, would predict higher pro-aggression thinking, which would then encourage future antisocial behavior. This hypothesis was tested in a longitudinal analysis of 411 male youths from the Cambridge Study of Delinquent Development (CSDD). After controlling for school performance, truancy, impulsivity, peer delinquency, and nonverbal intelligence, a path analysis revealed that low verbal intelligence at age 14 or 15 predicted violent offending (fighting) and property offending at age 21 or 22 by way of late adolescent pro-aggression attitudes. From these results, it was speculated that one mechanism linking low verbal intelligence to early adult offending is an attitude favorable to personal violation of the rights of others, in line with predictions from general personality and cognitive social learning (GPCSL) theory.

Intergenerational transmission of personality disorder: general or disorder-specific?

ABSTRACT This study investigates intergenerational relationships between the father’s personality disorder (PD) traits and the PD traits of his male and female offspring. We examine whether the intergenerational transmission of PD is due to the father transmitting a general vulnerability to all PDs, or whether the transmission is more specific to particular PDs. Structural Equation Modelling techniques are used to investigate a hypothesised model, based on Livesley’s [(2007). A framework for integrating dimensional and categorical classifications of personality disorder. Journal of Personality Disorders, 21(2), 199–224. https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi.2007.21.2.199] conceptualisation, which reorganises the DSM PD traits into four dimensions: Emotional Dysregulation, Dissocial Behaviour, Inhibitedness, and Compulsivity. General and specific transmission effects are examined for each model. The data comes from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, a large-scale prospective longitudinal survey of 411 males and their biological offspring. Findings revealed that the intergenerational transmission of PD traits from fathers to female offspring appeared to be both general and disorder-specific. Firm conclusions could not be drawn about the intergenerational transmission of PD traits from fathers to male offspring, as the data did not fit the hypothesised model.

Childhood Explanatory Factors for Adolescent Offending: a Cross-national Comparison Based on Official Records in London, Pittsburgh, and Zurich

This study compares childhood explanatory factors for adolescent offending according to official records obtained in three longitudinal projects conducted in three different countries: the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, the Pittsburgh Youth Study, and the Zurich Project on the Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood. This is the first comparison of a great variety of explanatory factors for recorded offending measured in three different geographic areas and different generations. Several common explanatory factors were found in the three projects, and they seem to be generalizable across time and context. Common explanatory factors for offending included individual factors such as high impulsivity, attention deficit, and low school achievement. Childrearing explanatory factors included poor supervision, physical discipline, and parental conflict. Socioeconomic explanatory factors included low family income and divorced parents. Parental imprisonment was also a common risk factor among the three studies. Replicable childhood predictors of youth offending should be targeted in prevention.

High resting heart rate protects against childhood risk factors in predicting adult psychopathy

PurposePrevious research has indicated that low resting heart rate (RHR), measured at age 18, predicts later psychopathy, and that high RHR acts as a protective factor in nullifying the influence of several psychosocial risk factors in predicting later antisocial and criminal outcomes. This paper aims to investigate high RHR as a protective factor against age 8–10 psychosocial risk factors in predicting psychopathy factors at age 48 (measured by the PCL:SV).Design/methodology/approachData collected in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development are analyzed. This is a prospective longitudinal study of 411 London males from age 8 to age 61.FindingsThis paper first reports the age 8–10 psychosocial risk factors that predict the interpersonal/affective Factor 1 and the lifestyle/antisocial Factor 2. Then interaction effects with high RHR are studied. The results indicate that high RHR acts as a protective factor against a convicted father and a depressed mother in predicting both psychopathy factors. It also protected against harsh discipline, large family size, low verbal IQ, high hyperactivity, poor parental supervision and a high delinquency-rate school in predicting one of these psychopathy factors, and against a convicted mother in a sensitivity analysis.Originality/valueThis is the first ever longitudinal study showing that high RHR acts as a protective factor in the prediction of psychopathy. The replicated results with different antisocial outcomes show that more research is warranted on the protective effects of high RHR.

Psychopathic personality and criminal violence across the life-course in a prospective longitudinal study: Does psychopathic personality predict violence when controlling for other risk factors?

PurposeThe purpose of the current study is to investigate to what extent, and when, psychopathic personality is predictive of violent convictions. MethodsBy analyzing data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, the relationships between psychopathic personality, childhood risk factors, and violent convictions were investigated prospectively. Psychopathic personality was measured at ages 8–10, 12–14, and 48. A wide range of childhood risk factors (e.g. convicted father, parental discipline, and socioeconomic status) were measured at age 8–10. Violent convictions were available from ages 10 to 61. In addition, specific offenses (robbery, assault, weapons offenses, and threatening behavior) were studied in the analyses. ResultsPsychopathic personality was predictive of violent offending across the life-course. After controlling for childhood risk factors, psychopathic personality was still a significant predictor of violent convictions. ConclusionsPsychopathic personality is predictive of violent convictions across the life-course, even after controlling for important childhood risk factors. Suggestions for future research are discussed.