Development Of Antisocial Behavior Research Articles

Interparental violence and development of antisocial behaviors in Portuguese adolescents

Juvenile delinquency is one of the main problems of adolescents. The objective of the present investigation was to verify the relationship between antisocial behaviors, measured by the Antisocial Conduct Questionnaire (CCA) and witnessing interparental violence assessed through the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS). The sample consisted of 671 adolescents (12 and 20 years old) from the northern region of Portugal. The results indicated that female adolescents revealed to have witnessed higher levels of psychological aggression, perpetrated by both father and mother, compared to males. The results suggest a positive association between emotional and physical violence perpetrated by parents and the different types of antisocial behaviors. Overall, it was found that the more exposed to interparental violence, the more likely they are to develop conduct problems. The results stressed the importance of developing more intervention programs towards violence domestic to prevent violence in that context.

The association between delinquent peer affiliation and disruptive behavior interacts with functional brain correlates of reward sensitivity: a biosocial interaction study in adolescent delinquents.

Affiliating with delinquent peers may stimulate the development of antisocial behavior, especially for adolescents who are sensitive to social rewards. The current study examines whether the association between delinquent peer affiliation (DPA) and disruptive behavior interacts with functional brain correlates of reward sensitivity in early onset male adolescents delinquents. Childhood arrestees (n = 126, mean age = 17.7 [s.d. 1.6]) completed a DPA questionnaire, and participated in an fMRI study in which reward sensitivity was operationalized through responsiveness of the ventral striatum (VS), amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during the monetary incentive delay paradigm (reward anticipation and outcome). Symptoms of disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) were assessed through structured psychiatric interviews (Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children) with adolescents. DPA had a main effect on DBD symptoms. Adolescents with high VS reward responses showed a stronger significant positive association between DPA and DBD symptoms compared to low VS responders. No evidence for an interaction effect was found for the amygdala and mPFC. Post-hoc analyses revealed the positive association between DPA and DBD was only present in males, with a diminishing effect as age increased. We found evidence for a biosocial interaction between DPA and reward sensitivity of the VS in relation to DBD symptom severity. This study provides the first evidence of an interaction effect between a brain mechanism and an environmental factor in relation to DBD symptoms, implying that susceptibility to influences of delinquent peers may intertwine with individual biological differences.

Direct and indirect childhood victimization and their influence on the development of adolescents antisocial behaviors.

Experiences of direct and indirect victimization can be very common among children and adolescents of the general population and can have an important impact on their behavior. The general aim of this study was to analyze the possible association between childhood victimization and the development of antisocial behaviors during adolescence. The prevalence of child victimization and antisocial behaviors self-reported by adolescents is shown. Therefore, the individual associations between different types of childhood victimization and antisocial behaviors were explored. The sample comprised 459 general population adolescents. Data on six types of childhood victimization were collected using the Spanish version of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire, and information on five types of antisocial behaviors was gathered using the short version of the Antisocial Behavior Questionnaire. More than 90% of the adolescents had been victimized at least once, while almost half of them had engaged in at least one type of antisocial behavior in the last 12 months. Witnessing and indirect victimization is the only type of childhood victimization associated with the antisocial behaviors analyzed. These results corroborate previous findings suggesting that witnessing and indirect victimization may have the same or similar impact to that of direct victimization on adolescents' social adjustment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

PROMOTION OF UNHEALTHY FOOD AND ITS INFLUENCE ON ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR

The goal of this paper is to explore the issue of promoting unhealthy food and its potential impact on antisocial behavior in contemporary society using methods of structural and functional analysis, quantitative and qualitative analysis, comparative analysis, descriptive methods, and survey methods. Unhealthy food with high-calorie, harmful nutritional ingredients, can cause a myriad of health issues, such as obesity, cardiovascular conditions, and diabetes, but in some instances, it can affect the behavior of individuals. The paper investigates how such promotion can affect individuals’ eating patterns and health, with a particular focus on the development of antisocial behaviors. It also considers risk factors, including socioeconomic aspects and the influence of the media, that support the promotion of unhealthy food. This paper also discusses potential strategies to reduce the promotion of unhealthy food and promote healthier choices to mitigate the negative effects on antisocial behavior and enhance societal well-being.

A longitudinal, multimethod study of children’s early emerging maladaptive personality traits: Stress sensitivity as a protective factor

Children of fathers with alcohol use problems and mothers with depression are considered to be at high risk for the development of antisocial behavior, which may be at least partially mediated by early emerging externalizing personality traits (e.g., aggression, manipulativeness). However, not all high-risk youth develop externalizing personality traits. We examined whether associations between fathers’ lifetime history of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and mothers’ lifetime history of major depressive disorder (MDD) with children’s externalizing personality traits were moderated by a psychophysiological marker of children’s stress reactivity and fearfulness/anxiousness, namely, cortisol output during a standardized stress task. Participants were a community sample of 205 children and their caregivers assessed at three time points. Paternal lifetime history of AUD and maternal lifetime history of MDD, combined with lower child cortisol output, were related to youth self-reported aggression. Further, girls lower in cortisol output were higher in manipulativeness in the context of paternal lifetime history of AUD.

Does Prosociality in Early-to Mid-Adolescence Protect Against Later Development of Antisocial Behaviours?

Connections between prosociality and antisocial behaviors have been recognized; however, little research has studied their developmental links longitudinally. This is important to illuminate during early adolescence as a sensitive period for social development in which prosociality could protect against the development of later antisocial behaviors. This study investigates the within-person developmental links between prosociality and antisocial behaviors, as well as a potential mediating role of peer relationships, across ages 11, 13, and 15 ( N = 1526; 51% male) using random-intercept cross-lagged panel models. Results indicated that neither self-reported nor teacher-reported prosociality was associated with reduced aggressive behaviors but suggested a direct protective (‘promotive’) effect of teacher-reported prosociality on bullying perpetration. These findings suggest that promoting prosociality in early adolescence may help reduce some antisocial behaviors over early to mid-adolescent development. Improving prosociality could be explored as a target in intervention approaches such as school-based anti-bullying interventions.

A neurocognitive model of early onset persistent and desistant antisocial behavior in early adulthood.

It remains unclear which functional and neurobiological mechanisms are associated with persistent and desistant antisocial behavior in early adulthood. We reviewed the empirical literature and propose a neurocognitive social information processing model for early onset persistent and desistant antisocial behavior in early adulthood, focusing on how young adults evaluate, act upon, monitor, and learn about their goals and self traits. Based on the reviewed literature, we propose that persistent antisocial behavior is characterized by domain-general impairments in self-relevant and goal-related information processing, regulation, and learning, which is accompanied by altered activity in fronto-limbic brain areas. We propose that desistant antisocial development is associated with more effortful information processing, regulation and learning, that possibly balances self-relevant goals and specific situational characteristics. The proposed framework advances insights by considering individual differences such as psychopathic personality traits, and specific emotional characteristics (e.g., valence of social cues), to further illuminate functional and neural mechanisms underlying heterogenous developmental pathways. Finally, we address important open questions and offer suggestions for future research to improve scientific knowledge on general and context-specific expression and development of antisocial behavior in early adulthood.

Coercive Parent-Adolescent Interactions Predict Substance use and Antisocial Behaviors Through Early Adulthood: A Dynamic Systems Perspective.

This study revisits the association between coercive parent-adolescent interactions and adolescent externalizing behaviors. Specifically, we investigate the moment-to-moment coercive exchanges between parents and adolescents and how these dynamic processes map to the long-term development of substance use and antisocial behavior from middle adolescence to early adulthood. We collected videotaped observations with 794 adolescents (ages 16-17 years) and their parents during interactions and coded their real-time behavioral exchanges. State Space Grid analyses were used to measure the proportion of time in which each parent-adolescent dyad engaged in the Dyadic Coercion region as an indicator of rigidity in dyadic coercion. We also measured adolescents' substance use and antisocial behavior at ages 16-17, ages 18-19, and ages 21-22. The enduring impact of parent-adolescent coercive interaction on substance use and antisocial behavior was tested using categorical latent growth curve models and path models. Adolescents with more coercive interactions with parents showed higher rates of increase in alcohol use and higher levels of antisocial behavior through early adulthood. The findings highlight the unique contribution of using intensive data to understand coercive interactions on a micro-timescale and how these dynamics influence long-term development in externalizing behaviors. Implications for intervention studies are discussed.

The Effect of Parents and Peers on the Neural Correlates of Risk Taking and Antisocial Behavior During Adolescence.

Social and neurobiological factors independently associate with the development of antisocial behavior during adolescence, yet it is unclear how these factors contribute to antisocial behavior in girls. Using a longitudinal sample of 45 adolescent girls (age in years at scan: M = 15.38, SD = 0.33), this study examined the contributions of parent-adolescent relationship quality and deviant peer affiliation from 6th-8th grades along with the neural correlates of risk taking in 9th grade to later antisocial behavior. High parent-adolescent closeness in early adolescence predicted lower antisocial behavior for girls in later adolescence via lower affiliation with deviant peer groups and less activation of the medial prefrontal cortex during risk taking. Findings highlight the enduring role of parents and peers during adolescence, and the importance of investigating social relationships alongside the brain to identify a holistic understanding of the development of antisocial behavior in girls.

The Process of Scaling Early Childhood Violence Prevention Programs in Jamaica.

Violence is a global public health problem, and early childhood interventions are a core component of violence prevention programming. Interventions to support parents and teachers of young children can prevent violence against children by caregivers and prevent the early development of antisocial behavior. However, there is limited guidance on how to scale up these programs in low- and middle-income countries. In this article, we describe how we applied implementation science principles in the design, implementation, evaluation, and initial scaling of 2 complementary early childhood, violence prevention, caregiver training programs in Jamaica: the Irie Classroom Toolbox (a teacher-training program) and the Irie Homes Toolbox (a parenting program). We identified 7 implementation science principles most relevant to our work in scaling the Irie Toolbox programs and describe how these principles were operationalized in the Jamaican context. The principles are: (1) design programs for scale from the outset; (2) use learning cycles for quality improvement; (3) plan strategically for government agency adoption; (4) provide high-quality initial and ongoing training and regular supervision; (5) monitor implementation quality; (6) use flexible delivery modes; and (7) plan for program sustainment. Through applying these principles to scale the Irie Toolbox programs, we aim to promote a consistent approach to reducing violence against children, reducing child behavior problems, and increasing caregiver and child competencies across both home and school contexts at the population level. The principles and processes described in this article are relevant to other behavior change interventions in early childhood development, education, and public health.

The development of youth antisocial behavior across time and context: A systematic review and integration of person-centered and variable-centered research.

Trajectories of youth antisocial behavior (ASB) are characterized by continuity and change. Although numerous longitudinal studies have examined ASB, findings from person-centered and variable-centered research have not yet been integrated. The present paper integrates findings across statistical methods for a more comprehensive understanding of the development of ASB. Neighborhood disadvantage is considered as a core moderator. The study protocol was registered in the PROSPERO database of systematic reviews (registration number CRD42021255820). The PsycINFO and PubMed databases were examined (September 2022) to identify longitudinal studies of youth aggression and/or rule-breaking. Results from person-centered and variable-centered studies were integrated via narrative synthesis, and a systematic quality assessment was conducted. Of 8227 studies identified, 136 met inclusion criteria. Our review indicated that rule-breaking trajectories were largely distinguished by differences in rate of change (i.e., slope), whereas aggression trajectories differed more by baseline level (i.e., intercept), particularly in childhood. For adolescents in disadvantaged neighborhoods, however, aggression trajectories differed by both intercept and slope. The respective importance of the intercept and slope differed across dimensions of ASB, developmental stage, and neighborhood residence. Neighborhood disadvantage was associated with trajectories of aggression, consistent with developmental theories emphasizing the role of person-environment interactions.

PREVENTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN YOUTH

This article is about the problems that can lead to a significant increase in antisocial behavior of Ukrainian youth. In particular, the prevention of its development and the prevention of its emergence. This article will focus on rethinking the role of antisocial behavior of youth in society.This article aims to analyze and characterize the problems, features, and trends of the study of antisocial behavior in youth, as well as to specify the search for a systematic approach to develop effective ways to improve the quality of preventative measures and social educational services.The goal of the system is to provide preventive measures for the development of antisocial behavior in youth and to solve the life problems of individuals and social groups. Also to create appropriate conditions under which these groups will be able to independently solve their problems, restore lost skills and functions, and overcome or minimize them.The focus is on developing a strategy for preventing antisocial behavior in the youth of Ukraine, the USA, and the rest of Europe to meet the informational needs of youth in Ukrainian society.It was determined that the prevention of antisocial behavior consists of the systematic supply of counseling services, which are carried out during the period of adaptation of the individual to the new conditions of the social environment.The perspective issue is the study of the development process of youth's antisocial behavior during the conditions of war on the territory of Ukraine. It presupposes the process of rethinking and finding the essential characteristics of the process of youth socialization, which requires a high level of social responsibility and national consciousness from each person.

The role of poor sleep on the development of self-control and antisocial behavior from adolescence to adulthood

ObjectivesMuch remains unknown about the potential role of changes in poor sleep on the well-established association between changes in components of low self-control, such as impulsivity and sensation seeking, and antisocial behavior from adolescence to adulthood. MethodsA series of dynamic panel models with prospective data from a population-based sample of youth (n = 1922) are estimated to assess the moderating role of within-individual changes in poor sleep quality on within-individual changes in impulsivity, sensation seeking, and antisocial behavior from ages 16 to 27. ResultsThe relation between within-individual changes in sensation seeking and antisocial behavior from ages 16 to 27 increases when paired with poor sleep, but this same pattern was not observed for the relationship between impulsivity and antisocial behavior. Supplemental analyses reveal that changes in poor sleep are associated with changes in impulsivity and sensation seeking, suggesting a reciprocal dynamic between sleep and dimensions of self-control over time. ConclusionsWithin-individual increases in poor sleep strengthen the association between sensation seeking and antisocial behavior during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. Additional evidence suggests that within-individual changes in sleep are also related to changes in impulsivity and sensation seeking during this transition.

Role of Triarchic Traits in Relations of Early Resting Heart Rate With Antisocial Behavior and Broad Psychopathology Dimensions in Later Life

Low resting heart rate (HR) is a known risk indicator for the development of antisocial behavior (ASB) and other clinical problems. Stimulation seeking and fearlessness have been explored as factors underlying the HR/ASB relationship, but these have often been conflated, which has complicated interpretation. We examined HR’s associations with ASB and other outcomes in terms of biobehavioral traits described by the triarchic model of psychopathy using data ( N = 710) from a longitudinal study of ASB risk. Low resting HR in childhood was related to adult ASB, and covariance between ASB and traits of disinhibition and boldness largely accounted for this association. In addition, low childhood HR was related to greater externalizing problems and fewer internalizing problems in adulthood; disinhibition accounted for the former association, and boldness accounted for the latter. Findings indicate a role for both disinhibition and boldness in associations between early HR and later clinical outcomes and have implications for theory and practice.

Sources of Human’s Aggression, Violence, Antisocial and Addictive Behaviors

In the 21st century hunger, starvation and malnutrition is still a scourge of mankind. According to World Bank reports a rise of millions of people lacked year-round access to adequate food in 2020 compared to 2019. Malnutrition, poverty, lack of quality education and insufficient health care are causes and consequences of each other. Preconceptual, prenatal and early postnatal malnutrition have life-long negative consequences on human’s health and behavior via epigenetic processes that regulate gene expression providing short-term survival benefits but predispose to various pathological conditions in adulthood. Based on scientific research there is not any doubt that early epigenetic changes play a major role in the development of excessive aggression, violence, antisocial and addictive behaviors. A body of evidence shows that clinical pictures like oppositional defiant disorders (ODD), conduct disorders (CD) and antisocial personality disorders (APD) have a neurodevelopmental origin based on epigenetic changes of gene expression. It is suggested that only early intensive therapeutic interventions focusing on autonomy, sense of competence and social connectedness in an individualistic, systemic and tightly structured positive and safe environment including healthy lifestyle and nutrition could prevent the progression of ODD into CD and eventually into APD. Quality nutrition, quality education and adequate health care for every human, starting at the very first days of life, are claimed to be unconditional premises to transform humanity into a peaceful species able to deal with the future challenges and dangers of life on planet earth.

Raging Hormones: Why Age-Based Etiological Conceptualizations of the Development of Antisocial Behavior Are Insufficient

Developmental science, particularly developmental neuroscience, has substantially influenced the modern legal system. However, this science has typically failed to consider the role of puberty and pubertal hormones on development when considering antisocial behavior. This review describes major theoretical positions on the developmental neuroscience of antisocial behavior and highlights where basic developmental neuroscience suggests that the role of puberty and pubertal hormones should be considered. The implications of the current state of the science with respect to developmental neuroscience is considered, particularly what is known in light of development beyond puberty. This review shows that development continues to an older age for many youth than the legal system typically acknowledges. The plasticity of the brain that this continued development implies has implications for the outcome of interventions in the legal system in ways that have not been explored. Future directions for both developmental scientists and legal professions are recommended.

The influence of environmental and genetic factors on the development of psychopathy: A systematic review

The aim of this review is to understand what is known about the genetic and environmental influences on the development of psychopathy. Psychopathy is considered a personality structure in which affective, interpersonal, and behavioral deficits are evidenced. Both genetic and environmental effects contribute to the development of this personality structure. In this systematic review, documents from several databases were analyzed, following the PRISMA guidelines. To avoid publication and source selection bias, these database searches were supplemented by an additional manual search. A total of 159 studies, published between 1981 and 2021, were identified from all databases and search methods. The studies' abstracts were available, and 37 studies were selected. In addition, two studies were included from the manual research. Thus, a total of 39 studies were selected for review. The results of the studies suggest that the monoamine oxidase genotype (MAOA), dopamine transporter gene (DAT1), dopamine receptor D5 (DRD5) and serotonin transporter gene (5HTTLPR) are frequently associated with antisocial behavior, although with different behavioral manifestations between men and women, and that the dopamine receptor gene alleles (DRD2 and DRD4) are good delinquency predictors. In addition, genetic and non-shared environmental factors are those with the most influence on antisocial behavior, specifically psychopathy, with the correlation values of monozygotic twins being higher than those of dizygotic twins, thus demonstrating the importance of genes. It was concluded that genetic factors influence the development of both antisocial behavior and psychopathy. However, environmental factors often contribute to the exacerbation of genetic factors.

Resisting aggression in social contexts: The influence of life-course persistent antisocial behavior on behavioral and neural responses to social feedback

Early adulthood has long been recognized as a potential turning point for the development of antisocial behavior, due to changes in social contexts and ongoing psychological and neurobiological maturation. However, it remains unclear how different developmental trajectories of antisocial behavior, their neural underpinnings, and individual differences in psychopathic traits may help explain the distinct developmental outcomes of individuals who persist in or desist from antisocial behavior in early adulthood - such as how they respond to others in social contexts. Therefore, in the current study, young adults (aged 18–30, 68% male) with a persistent or desistant antisocial trajectory (N = 54), as well as healthy controls (N = 39), completed the Social Network Aggression Task, during which they received positive, neutral, or negative feedback on a personal profile and got the opportunity to retaliate by blasting a loud noise. On a behavioral level, results indicated that in all groups, negative peer feedback evoked higher retaliatory aggression, compared to positive and neutral feedback. On a neural level, when receiving social feedback, individuals with persistent or desistent trajectories showed both similar and dissociable patterns of neural activity; desisting and persisting trajectory groups showed higher activity in the Insula, and the desisting trajectory group showed higher activity in dlPFC. Finally, when participants retaliated, they showed increased dlPFC and ACC activity following positive relative to neutral and negative feedback, where ACC activity correlated most strongly with inhibition of retaliatory responses in the desisting trajectory group. Together, these findings provide novel insights in dissociable patterns of brain activity that may increase our understanding of the mechanisms underlying different developmental trajectories of antisocial behavior.

Mediational Role of Mental Toughness on the Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Prosocial/Antisocial Behavior in Elite Youth Sport.

The modeling and reinforcement of efficacy beliefs and mental toughness in sport continue to generate significant curiosity in the sport psychology research. Investigations into how these behaviors interact and, in the process, affect the development of prosocial and antisocial behaviors among youth athletes are relatively few. This is despite growing evidence of strong associations between self-efficacy beliefs, mental toughness, and various kinds of adaptive and maladaptive behaviors in sport. Therefore, this study sought to examine if mental toughness mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and prosocial/antisocial behaviors in Botswana youth athletes. The study also examined if data from Botswana fit the proposed factor structure of the Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire, the Self-efficacy Scale, and the Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior in Sport scale. A total of 158 male (n = 81) and female (n = 77) junior secondary school and senior secondary school (middle and high school) athletes aged 14–20 years old enrolled in Centers for Sport Excellence in Botswana participated in the study. Results showed support for the factor structure of the study's measurement tools. The constancy dimension of mental toughness mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and prosocial/antisocial behavior to teammate and opponent. These findings have implications for research and practice aimed at enhancing efficacy beliefs, mental toughness, and positive youth sport experiences. Contextual relevance of this line of research and measurement tools are discussed.

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.