Delinquent Development Research Articles

“The beat of my heart”: the relationship between resting heart rate and psychopathy in a prospective longitudinal study

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between resting heart rate (RHR) and psychopathy. The literature on heart rate vs criminality (including violence) is quite clear; low RHR is associated with engaging in violent and criminal behavior. However, results are not as consistent for psychopathy.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyzes heart rate measured at ages 18 and 48, and psychopathy at age 48, in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD). The CSDD is a prospective longitudinal study that has followed 411 boys from childhood to middle age, and measured social and biological factors of interest to the field of criminal psychology.FindingsInterestingly, it was only heart rate at age 18 that was negatively and significantly related to psychopathy at age 48. No trends or relationships were found between heart rate at age 48 and psychopathy at age 48. The findings do, however, indicate that low heart rate at age 18 predicts psychopathy at age 48, and the strongest negative relationships are found between low heart rate (beats per minute) and impulsive and antisocial psychopathic symptoms.Originality/valueThis is the first ever longitudinal study showing that low RHR predicts later psychopathy. Suggestions for future research are outlined.

A quasi-experimental test of the effects of criminal justice involvement on later mental health

While many criminological theories posit causal hypotheses, many studies fail to use methods that adequately address the three criteria of causality. This is particularly important when assessing the impact of criminal justice involvement on later outcomes. Due to practical and ethical concerns, it is challenging to randomize criminal sanctions, so quasi-experimental methods such as propensity score matching are often used to approximate a randomized design. Based on longitudinal data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, the current study used propensity score matching to investigate the extent to which convictions and/or incarcerations in the first two decades of life were related to adverse mental health during middle adulthood. Propensity scores were utilized to match those with and without criminal justice involvement on a wide range of risk factors for offending. The results indicated that there were no significant differences in mental health between those involved in the criminal justice system and those without such involvement. The results did not detect a relationship between justice system involvement and later mental health suggesting that the consequences of criminal justice involvement may only be limited to certain domains.

Comparing the criminal careers and childhood risk factors of persistent, chronic, and persistent–chronic offenders

There have been few efforts to conceptually and empirically distinguish persistent and chronic offenders, despite the prominence of these concepts in the criminological literature. Research has not yet examined if different childhood risk factors are associated with offenders who have the longest criminal careers (persistent offenders), commit the most offences (chronic offenders), or both (persistent–chronic offenders). We address this gap using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. Poverty, poor school attainment, and family stress had a pervasive impact on all forms of offending in correlational analyses. Longer criminal career durations were associated with fewer childhood risk factors than was the case for chronic offenders. Chronic offenders were significantly more likely than persistent offenders to experience many environmental risks in childhood. When controlling for all other risk factors, hyperactivity and parental separation uniquely predicted persistent offending, while high daring and large family size uniquely predicted chronic offending. Our analyses point to the need for responses based on a philosophy of “proportionate universalism,” where universal multisystemic crime prevention strategies that benefit all children incorporate program components that are known to influence the unique risk factors for both persistent and chronic offending.

Grandiose-Manipulative, Callous-Unemotional, and Daring-Impulsive: the Prediction of Psychopathic Traits in Adolescence and their Outcomes in Adulthood

There has been much debate about how to measure psychopathic traits in adolescence. One of the main issues is whether one should focus on callous-unemotional (CU) traits alone, or CU traits in combination with Grandiose-Manipulative (GM) and Daring-Impulsive (DI) traits. The current study first investigates the extent to which youth who are high on CU traits are also high on GM and DI traits. In addition, the study investigates if being high on both CU and GM, and high on both CU and DI, identify groups that are particularly characterized by past and future impairments. To investigate this, data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD) was analyzed. The CSDD is a prospective longitudinal study of 411 English boys spanning over 50 years. The information available at age 12–14 was coded on the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD). Childhood risk factors were measured at age 8–10 and later life outcomes were measured at age 32. The results indicate that being high on CU in combination with DI delineates a clinically interesting group who are characterized by high childhood risk and poorer adult life outcomes. The same applied to the high CU/high GM group, but to a lesser extent.

The impact of longitudinal offending trajectories on mental health: Lifetime consequences and intergenerational transfer

ObjectivesThis paper set out to contribute to the literature by linking research into offending pathways with the study of longitudinal effects and intergenerational transmission of mental health. MethodsData was used from two generations of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, a longitudinal study of 411 men from London and their children who were followed since 1961–62. ResultsFindings from this study (1) indicate that symptoms of depression and anxiety were highest among those who commenced offending in adulthood and (2) demonstrated familial continuity of mental health: poor offspring mental health was related to father's criminality, but not to their offender group. ConclusionsA thorough understanding of the heterogeneity of offenders is essential for policy and practice. It is suggested that future research further examines individuals who only commence offending in adulthood, since they have been shown to not only face a variety of adverse outcomes themselves, but are also likely to have children with distinct patterns of internalizing problems.

Developmental sensitivity to cannabis use patterns and risk for major depressive disorder in mid-life: findings from 40 years of follow-up.

Evidence regarding the association between cannabis use and depression remain conflicting, especially as studies have not typically adopted a longitudinal design with a follow-up period that was long enough to adequately cover the risk period for onset of depression. Males from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD) (N = 285) were assessed seven times from age 8 to 48 years to prospectively investigate the association between cannabis use and risk of major depressive disorder (MDD). A combination of multiple analyses (logistic regression, Cox regression, fixed-effects analysis) was employed to explore the strength and direction of effect within different developmental stages. Multiple regression analyses revealed that early-onset cannabis use (before age 18) but not late-onset cannabis use (after age 27) was associated with a higher risk and shorter time until a subsequent MDD diagnosis. This effect was present in high-frequency [(odds ratio (OR) 8.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29-70.79]; [hazard ratio (HR) 8.69, 95% CI 2.07-36.52)] and low-frequency early-onset users (OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.22-4.76; HR 2.09, 95% CI 1.16-3.74). Effect of increased frequency of cannabis use on increased risk of subsequent MDD was observed only for use during adolescence (age 14-18) but not at later life stages, while controlling for observed and non-unobserved time-invariant factors. Conversely, MDD in adulthood (age 18-32) was linked to a reduction in subsequent cannabis use (age 32-48). The present findings provide evidence implicating frequent cannabis use during adolescence as a risk factor for later life depression. Future studies should further examine causality of effects in larger samples.

Advancing knowledge about residual criminal careers: A follow-up to age 56 from the Cambridge study in delinquent development

PurposeThis study investigates criminal career parameters that are associated with residual career length (RCL) and residual number of offenses (RNO) across various periods of the life course. MethodsDrawing on official data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development up to age 56, distributions of RCL and RNO are examined for various criminal career features: age, conviction number, time since the last conviction, age of onset, co-offending, and offense type. ResultsThe residual number of years and offenses remaining in criminal careers declines steadily with age. Residual criminal careers decline with increasing time since the last offense; RCL and RNO display the most substantial declines after 5 years have elapsed since the last offense. The average RCL is the same for nonviolent and violent offenses, and the average RNO is lower for the latter. Risk scores predicted RNO more strongly than RCL. ConclusionsGiven the historically unprecedented number of individuals with a criminal record, and the resulting stigma and blocked access to employment and housing opportunities, residual criminal career research has important implications for reintegration efforts. Not all criminal records are equal. Evidence suggests that not all features of prior criminal records may be predictive of future offending.

A little early risk goes a long bad way: Adverse childhood experiences and life-course offending in the Cambridge study

PurposeWhile Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been found to predict an increased prevalence and seriousness of offending, these findings are based on a sample from one U.S. state. To increase the generalizability of these findings, the impact of ACEs was investigated using a geographically-distinct sample. The current study also sought to identify potential protective factors that may buffer the impact of ACEs on offending. MethodsUsing the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, the prevalence and impact of ACEs on offending through age 56 were investigated. In order to identify protective factors, a large set of early childhood measures were examined to assess the degree to which they decreased offending among those with ACEs. ResultsSimilar to prior studies, ACEs were found to increase the likelihood of offending throughout the life course. Across two operationalizations of risk, a number of protective factors were identified including low troublesomeness, low daring, and low hyperactivity. ConclusionsThough prior research has focused on identifying offending risk factors, equally important is the identification of protective factors. This comprehensive approach allows interventions to strengthen these factors in order to buffer the deleterious impact of ACEs on offending.

Disentangling Operationalizations of Persistent Offending

ObjectiveNumerous operationalizations of persistent offending have been used in the extant research with the assumption that these findings are generalizable. We tested this assumption by comparing the criminal careers of persistent offenders identified by different methods. MethodWe examined 38 operationalizations of persistent offending and the groups they identified. Criminal careers were measured using official conviction data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (n=411). ResultsThe groups of persistent offenders differed in prevalence rates (ranging from 1.24% to 29.53% of the sample), average age of onset (from 10.86 to 26.07years), average criminal career duration (from 16.96 to 39.86years), average convictions (from 4.03 to 23.33, λ ranged from 0.3 to 1.17 convictions per year), and offender overlap (from 0% to 100%, ORs ranged from 0.34 to 787.5). Persistent offenders identified by the Group Based Trajectory Model were least likely to be identified by any other operationalization. ConclusionDifferent operationalizations generally identified qualitatively different offenders as persistent, suggesting that the findings on persistent offending in the literature may not be generalizable across studies. However, our analyses are limited to the CSDD, and so further research is needed.

The Economic Maturity Gap Encourages Continuity in Offending

In the study of criminal careers, factors that predict continuity in offending are of importance to both theory and policy. One recently advanced hypothesis is Moffitt’s “economic maturity gap,” which argues that some adolescence-limited offenders may be mired in a poor economic situation. As only one study to date has examined this hypothesis, the current study seeks to extend this line of research by assessing the relationship of the economic maturity gap on later offending. Using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, three distinct operationalizations of the economic maturity gap are used to predict continued offending into mid-adulthood. Findings support the hypothesis that adolescence-limited males who experience this gap in late adolescence are more likely to continue offending into adulthood. Experiencing poor economic circumstances helps to maintain offending into mid-adulthood.

Money Now, Money Later: Linking Time Discounting and Criminal Convictions in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development

Two prominent criminological theories offer time discounting, or the preference for an immediate reward over a later one, as a central part of understanding involvement in criminal activity. Yet, there exist only a few studies investigating this issue, and they are limited in a few respects. The current study extends prior work in this area by using multiple measures of time discounting collected at three different periods of the life course to examine the link to criminal offending into late middle adulthood in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. Results show that greater time discounting is positively related to a higher number of criminal convictions by late middle adulthood, and this effect remains after controlling for early life-course individual and environmental risk in a multivariate framework. Study limitations and implications are also discussed.

Risk factors for dating violence versus cohabiting violence: Results from the third generation of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development.

Dating violence is an important problem. Evidence suggests that women are more likely to perpetrate dating violence. The present study investigates the prevalence of dating violence compared with cohabiting violence in a community sample of men and women and assesses to what extent child and adolescent explanatory factors predict this behaviour. A secondary aim is to construct a risk score for dating violence based on the strongest risk factors. The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development is a prospective longitudinal survey of 411 men (generation 2) born in the 1950s in an inner London area. Most recently, their sons and daughters [generation 3 (G3)] have been interviewed regarding their perpetration of dating and cohabiting violence, utilising the Conflict Tactics Scale. Risk factors were measured in four domains (family, parental, socio-economic and individual). A larger proportion of women than men perpetrated at least one act of violence towards their dating partner (36.4 vs 21.7%). There was a similar pattern for cohabiting violence (39.6 vs 21.4%). A number of risk factors were significantly associated with the perpetration of dating violence. For G3 women, these included a convicted father, parental conflict, large family size and poor housing. For G3 men, these included having a young father or mother, separation from the father before age 16, early school leaving, frequent truancy and having a criminal conviction. A risk score for both men and women, based on 10 risk factors, significantly predicted dating violence. Risk factors from four domains were important in predicting dating violence, but they were different for G3 men and women. It may be important to consider different risk factors and different risk assessments for male compared with female perpetration of dating violence. Early identification and interventions are recommended. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Intergenerational Transmission of Convictions for Different Types of Offenses

The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development is a prospective longitudinal survey of 411 London males from age 8 to age 56. This article compares the convictions of 343 adult sons (searched up to the median age of 29) with the convictions of their fathers up to the same age. There was significant intergenerational transmission of convictions, since 43% of the sons of convicted fathers were themselves convicted, compared with 18% of the sons of unconvicted fathers. There was significant intergenerational transmission of burglary, serious and minor theft, violence, threatening behavior, carrying an offensive weapon, and serious motoring offenses. The most important mediators between parental and child convictions were the family renting rather than owning their own home, poor parental supervision, an antiestablishment attitude of the father, parental physical punishment of the child, and separation of the son from his father. Implications for the prevention of intergenerational transmission are drawn.

The Importance of School Attendance: Findings From the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development on the Life-Course Effects of Truancy

School dropout has been extensively studied in the literature as a correlate of negative life outcomes. A precursor to school dropout is truancy, the unexcused or illegitimate student absence from school. Few studies have examined the relationship between truancy and involvement in crime and adjustment more generally over the life-course. This study extends previous work by exploring whether truancy at age 12 to 14 is related to later life outcomes such as crime, aggression, and adjustment using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. Results indicate that truancy has long-lasting associations with negative life outcomes, especially for non-violent crime and problem drinking. Importantly, these findings hold for certain outcomes controlling for a comprehensive host of environmental and individual childhood risk factors.

Continuity of cannabis use and violent offending over the life course.

Although the association between cannabis use and violence has been reported in the literature, the precise nature of this relationship, especially the directionality of the association, is unclear. Young males from the Cambridge Study of Delinquent Development (n = 411) were followed up between the ages of 8 and 56 years to prospectively investigate the association between cannabis use and violence. A multi-wave (eight assessments, T1-T8) follow-up design was employed that allowed temporal sequencing of the variables of interest and the analysis of violent outcome measures obtained from two sources: (i) criminal records (violent conviction); and (ii) self-reports. A combination of analytic approaches allowing inferences as to the directionality of associations was employed, including multivariate logistic regression analysis, fixed-effects analysis and cross-lagged modelling. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that compared with never-users, continued exposure to cannabis (use at age 18, 32 and 48 years) was associated with a higher risk of subsequent violent behaviour, as indexed by convictions [odds ratio (OR) 7.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.19-23.59] or self-reports (OR 8.9, 95% CI 2.37-46.21). This effect persisted after controlling for other putative risk factors for violence. In predicting violence, fixed-effects analysis and cross-lagged modelling further indicated that this effect could not be explained by other unobserved time-invariant factors. Furthermore, these analyses uncovered a bi-directional relationship between cannabis use and violence. Together, these results provide strong indication that cannabis use predicts subsequent violent offending, suggesting a possible causal effect, and provide empirical evidence that may have implications for public policy.

Intergenerational transmission of psychopathy and mediation via psychosocial risk factors

Introduction Intergenerational continuities in criminal behaviour have been well documented, but the familial nature of psychopathic personality is less well understood. Objectives To establish if there is an association between the psychopathic traits of a community sample of males and their offspring and whether psychosocial risk factors mediate. Methods Participants of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development ( n =478 dyads) were assessed for psychopathy using the PCL: SV. Multilevel regression models were used to investigate intergenerational continuity and mediation models examined indirect effects. Results The fathers' psychopathy was transmitted to both sons and daughters. The transmission of Factor 1 scores was mediated via the father's employment problems. For males, the Factor 2 scores were mediated via the fathers' drug use, accommodation and employment problems, for females, Factor 2 scores were mediated via the father's employment problems. Conclusions Understanding of the specific role of certain psychosocial risk factors may be useful in developing preventative measures.

Risk, promotive, and protective factors in youth offending: Results from the Cambridge study in delinquent development

PurposeThe main aim of this research is to investigate risk, promotive, risk-based protective, and interactive protective factors for delinquency. MethodsThe Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development is a prospective longitudinal survey of 411 London males from age 8 onwards. Variables measured at age 8–10 are investigated as predictors of convictions between ages 10 and 18. ResultsHigh troublesomeness, a convicted parent, and high daring were important risk factors for delinquency, while low neuroticism and few friends were important promotive factors. The most important interactive protective effects were: high nonverbal intelligence, high verbal intelligence, high school attainment, and high parental interest in education protected against poor child-rearing; good parental supervision protected against high dishonesty; and high family income protected against a convicted parent. ConclusionsDevelopmental and life-course theories of offending should attempt to explain findings on promotive and protective factors. Findings on interactive protective factors suggest particular types of interventions that should be targeted on individuals displaying particular risk factors.

A Longitudinal Analysis of the Criminal Careers of Intimate Partner Violence Offender Subtypes: Results From a Prospective Survey of Males.

Using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, a prospective longitudinal survey of more than 400 males in the United Kingdom followed from age 8 years to age 48 years, we investigated the role of Cluster B personality traits and the association with violent offending groups based on a typology theory of male intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators: those who committed family-only violence and the generally violent offender. We also considered whether offending/violent groups could be predicted using risk factors measured in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Our findings suggest that those men who are violent both within and outside the home (the generally violent men) are distinguished from those who are involved in IPV within the home only. The differences appear to be more in degree than in kind. We discuss these findings in relation to the idea of specific interventions and policy.

The relationship between a parental conviction and a son’s family formation

Abstract This study investigated whether a parental conviction is related to a son’s family formation. Using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development we found that parental crime was not related to whether sons marry, the age at which they marry, or the number of children they have. However, sons of convicted parents were younger when their first child was born, they separated more often than sons of unconvicted parents, and they also more often had a shotgun marriage. A son’s own offending, impulsive behaviour, low socio-economic status (SES), and his parents’ age at birth of the first child were all significant predictors decreasing the predictive power of parental crime for a son’s family formation. Parental separation was not a significant predictor of a son’s separation and parental violence did not increase the risk of a shotgun marriage. These results support the idea of intergenerational transmission of risky behaviour or an impulsive lifestyle. We also find some support for the intergenerational transmission of family formation characteristics. Third, adding low SES to the analysis reduced the strength of the relationship between parental crime and a son’s family formation. We find less support for an escape from home mechanism; or the idea that offspring use a pregnancy or shotgun marriage to escape from an unsatisfactory home situation. We conclude that crime and some family formation variables are related, but that other variables are often stronger predictors of a son’s family formation and therefore it is vital to investigate such relationships in multivariate analyses.

The effects of binge and problem drinking on problem behavior and adjustment over the life course: Findings from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development

PurposePrior research has documented linkages between alcohol use and crime and drinking and adverse life circumstances, but this evidence has largely been gleaned from cross-sectional studies or studies conducted over brief time periods. MethodsIn recognition of these limitations, the current study relies on prospective longitudinal data from 411 South London males who are participants in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD) to evaluate the prevalence of binge and problem drinking typologies (e.g., juvenile only, adult only, and juvenile and adult binge and problem drinking; ages 18–48) and the relationship of these typologies to non-violent and violent offending over the life-course (e.g., ever convicted for either a non-violent and/or violent offense over ages 10–50) and adult adjustment problems into late middle age. ResultsResults suggest that binge and problem drinking typologies are significantly related to both forms of offending and that these drinking behaviors are associated with a number of adult adjustment problems into late middle age, particularly for adult only and juvenile and adult binge and problem drinkers. ConclusionsThe findings highlight the importance of evidenced-based alcohol prevention and intervention efforts initiated early on in the life-course.