Involvement In Antisocial Behavior Research Articles

Growing up on the Street: Barriers to Educational Services Among Street Children in Malaysia

Educational services are part of the child welfare system and part of social services that are required for street-connected children to enhance their well-being. Negative street life and homelessness influence street-connected children to access educational services. This paper discusses the barriers to educational services encountered by street-connected children in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Understanding barriers to educational services is crucial to inform policymakers, child welfare providers, and the government to formulate relatable educational services for street-connected children. The researcher employed a quantitative research design to conduct the study. A total of 303 took part in this study. The influence factors of barriers to educational services were determined using multiple regression analysis. The findings revealed that undocumented issues, poverty issues, personality issues, involvement in antisocial behavior, behavior in school, and school social environment are among the barriers to educational services faced by street-connected children in Kuala Lumpur. Inputs provided in this study can be instrumental in improving the child welfare system related to educational needs and addressing the psycho-educational needs of street-connected children. Implementing and recommendations proposed in this study can make a positive impact to improve the overall well-being of street-connected children.

Cascades From Early Adolescent Impulsivity to Late Adolescent Antisocial Personality Disorder and Alcohol Use Disorder

PurposeThe behavioral disinhibition model (BDM) posits that a liability toward impulsivity evident by early adolescence underlies the coemergence of antisocial behavior and alcohol use (i.e., problem behaviors) in early-adolescence to mid-adolescence, but that the subsequent development of these problem behaviors (rather than impulsivity itself) predicts the emergence of antisocial personality disorder (APD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) in late adolescence. The present study was designed to test these predictions of the BDM from early to late adolescence. MethodsWe used five-year longitudinal self-report data from the Philadelphia Trajectory Study that was collected from 2006–2012. Mediational analyses were performed using the Random Intercept Cross-lagged Panel Model, which enables the detection of within-person predictions of changes in problem behaviors during adolescence. The sample was ethnically and socioeconomically diverse, including 364 urban US community youth (at baseline: Mage = 13.51(.95); 49.1% female). ResultsConsistent with the BDM, mediational analyses revealed that changes in early adolescent impulsivity predicted late adolescent APD and AUD criteria, mediated by changes in mid-adolescent alcohol use and conduct problems. DiscussionInterventions targeting impulsivity in early adolescence could potentially halt the cascading chain of events leading to both late adolescent APD and AUD by decelerating growth in antisocial behavior and alcohol use during early-adolescence to mid-adolescence. From mid-adolescence to late-adolescence, the consequences of early impulsivity, especially involvement in antisocial behaviors, become a more relevant predictor of both APD and AUD rather than impulsivity itself.

Female Arab teenagers' involvement in antisocial behavior: Intersection of perceived ethnonational discrimination, sexual victimization, and affiliation with delinquent peers.

Based on intersectionality theory, the present study examined the contribution of direct, indirect, and interactive effects of individual, family, peer, and contextual factors on violence against others among female Arab teenagers. The study is based on a sample of 193 at-risk teenagers aged 12-21 (M = 16.5), who completed questionnaires in their out-of-home care settings. Almost 60% of participants reported having perpetrated at least one moderate act of physical violence against others at least once during the preceding month. More than one-third (40%) had experienced at least one incident of sexual victimization during their lives. In addition, almost two-thirds (61%) reported experiencing at least one incident of ethnonational discrimination at least once during the past year. The findings also showed that the association between sexual victimization and moderate physical violence against others was mediated by the teenagers' affiliation with delinquent peers and moderated by perceived ethnonational discrimination. Finally, for participants with medium or high levels of perceived ethnonational discrimination, the associations between sexual victimization and perpetration of moderate physical violence, and between sexual victimization and peer delinquency, were stronger than for participants with low perceived discrimination. Examining the association between sexual victimization and violence perpetration is important, especially among at-risk teenagers in a conservative society, which expects victimized adolescents and young women to remain silent, given that silencing increases the risk of victims' involvement in delinquency and antisocial behavior. Intervention programs should be sensitive to the special situation of at-risk teenagers who experience marginalization consisting of several risk factors, including membership in an ethnonational minority and a traditional society in the context of a political conflict. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Individual, Familial, and Socio-Environmental Risk Factors of Gang Membership in a Community Sample of Adolescents in Southern Italy.

Despite the growing social alarm generated by the recurrent news concerning violent episodes involving youth gangs, systematic research in Italy in this field, especially within a psychological framework, is still limited. Following a social-ecological approach, the present study aimed at investigating the role of self-serving cognitive distortions (CDs), parental rejection, and community violence witnessing in youth gang membership (YGM). Furthermore, we examined the mediating and/or moderating role of YGM in the association between risk factors and involvement in antisocial behaviors (ASBs). A community sample of 817 adolescents attending middle and high schools in a high-risk urban area in Southern Italy (46.9% males; 53% middle school students; Mage = 14.67; SD = 1.65) were involved in the study. One hundred and fifty-seven participants (19.2%) were found to be gang members. Employing counterfactual-based mediation analysis, we found that CDs and community violence witnessing were directly associated with YGM and ASBs. The association between CDs and ASBs was mediated by YGM. Parental rejection was directly related to ASBs but not to YGM. A significant interaction effect between parental rejection and YGM was found, revealing that high levels of parental rejection, along with being a gang member, amplified the involvement in ASBs. These findings pointed out that distorted moral cognitions and the experience of violence witnessing within the community may represent a fertile ground for gang involvement. Both individual and contextual factors should be considered in order to implement interventions aimed to prevent adolescents’ risk of joining a gang.

The enduring effect of maltreatment on antisocial behavior: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies

The maltreatment-antisocial behavior relationship has been a focus of research for decades. Nevertheless, understanding this association has been largely based on cross-sectional designs and on juvenile antisocial outcomes. The present meta-analysis aimed to extend previous work on the maltreatment-antisocial relation by focusing on prospective longitudinal studies that have followed-up participants into adulthood. General, maltreatment and abusive intimate partner violent behaviors were included as outcomes. A total of 14 studies including 18 independent samples and 20,946 individuals were considered. Our results revealed that maltreated youth are nearly two times as likely to engage in antisocial behaviors in adulthood compared with their non-maltreated peers (OR = 1.96; CI[1.42, 2.71]). The relation between maltreatment and antisocial behavior was stronger when less covariates or the bivariate associations between them were considered, and maltreatment assessed in both childhood and adolescent years was more strongly related to the antisocial outcome. Nevertheless, the maltreatment-antisocial behavior link prevailed in the contrasting conditions, i.e., maltreatment assessed in childhood or in adolescent years, in multivariate analyses. Our results support an enduring effect of maltreatment on subsequent involvement in antisocial behavior, stressing the importance of preventing this victimization experience or, at best, the adverse consequences of maltreatment.

Effects of multisystemic therapy on caregivers of serious juvenile offenders: A 20-year follow-up to a randomized clinical trial.

Caregivers of serious juvenile offenders often hold favorable attitudes about criminality and frequently have histories of involvement in antisocial behaviors themselves. In the present study, the authors examined the long-term criminal and noncriminal outcomes for caregivers of serious juvenile offenders who had participated two decades earlier in a randomized clinical trial of multisystemic therapy (MST; Borduin et al., 1995). Participants were 276 caregivers of serious juvenile offenders who were originally randomized to MST or individual therapy (IT). Criminal and civil suit data for caregivers were obtained during a 20.7-year follow-up when caregivers were on average 61.5 years old. Caregivers in the MST condition had 94% fewer felonies and 70% fewer misdemeanors than did caregivers in the IT condition. In addition, caregivers in the IT condition were sentenced to 92% more days of incarceration and had 50% more family-related civil suits. Moreover, the favorable long-term effects of MST on caregiver criminality and civil suits were mediated by improved family relations during treatment. The present study represents the only follow-up to date of caregivers in an MST clinical trial and demonstrates the broader clinical benefits of a family-based treatment for serious juvenile offenders. Implications of the findings for policymakers and researchers are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Parental attachment for at-risk children's antisocial behaviour: A case of Malaysia

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was twofold: to explore the influential factors of parents’ attachment for at-risk children's antisocial behaviour, and to know the types of children's antisocial behaviour caused by being a single-parent family. The sample comprised 1,434 secondary school children from the state of Johore, Malaysia. Results from the structured questionnaire showed that the children were at risk of involvement in antisocial behaviour when their parental controls were either absent or ineffective owing to three risk factors: the absence of parents at home, the number of children in the family, and single-parent family households. The finding of the study has significant policy implications for improvement of parental care to develop child care services in Malaysia.

Developmental changes in genetic and environmental influences on rule-breaking and aggression: age and pubertal development.

Antisocial behavior (ASB) can be meaningfully divided into nonaggressive rule-breaking versus aggressive dimensions, which differ in developmental course and etiology. Previous research has found that genetic influences on rule-breaking, but not aggression, increase from late childhood to mid-adolescence. This study tested the extent to which the developmental increase in genetic influence on rule-breaking was associated with pubertal development compared to chronological age. Child and adolescent twins (n=1,031), ranging in age from 8 to 20years (M age=13.5years), were recruited from public schools as part of the Texas Twin Project. Participants reported on their pubertal development using the Pubertal Development Scale and on their involvement in ASB on items from the Child Behavior Checklist. Measurement invariance of ASB subtypes across age groups (≤12years vs. >12years old) was tested using confirmatory factor analyses. Quantitative genetic modeling was used to test whether the genetic and environmental influences on aggression and rule-breaking were moderated by age, pubertal status, or both. Quantitative genetic modeling indicated that genetic influences specific to rule-breaking increased as a function of pubertal development controlling for age (a gene×puberty interaction), but did not vary as a function of age controlling for pubertal status. There were no developmental differences in the genetic etiology of aggression. Family-level environmental influences common to aggression and rule-breaking decreased with age, further contributing to the differentiation between these subtypes of ASB from childhood to adolescence. Future research should discriminate between alternative possible mechanisms underlying gene×puberty interactions on rule-breaking forms of antisocial behavior, including possible effects of pubertal hormones on gene expression.

Living alongside more affluent neighbors predicts greater involvement in antisocial behavior among low-income boys.

The creation of economically mixed communities has been proposed as one way to improve the life outcomes of children growing up in poverty. However, whether low-income children benefit from living alongside more affluent neighbors is unknown. Prospectively gathered data on over 1,600 children from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study living in urban environments is used to test whether living alongside more affluent neighbors (measured via high-resolution geo-spatial indices) predicts low-income children's antisocial behavior (reported by mothers and teachers at the ages of 5, 7, 10, and 12). Results indicated that low-income boys (but not girls) surrounded by more affluent neighbors had higher levels of antisocial behavior than their peers embedded in concentrated poverty. The negative effect of growing up alongside more affluent neighbors on low-income boys' antisocial behavior held across childhood and after controlling for key neighborhood and family-level factors. Findings suggest that efforts to create more economically mixed communities for children, if not properly supported, may have iatrogenic effects on boys' antisocial behavior.

Family and abuse characteristics of gang-involved, pressured-to-join, and non–gang-involved girls.

Objective: Gang membership among adolescent girls is an understudied phenomenon, despite the fact that these young girls are on a pathway to continued involvement in antisocial behavior. Using a large school-based sample, this was one of the first studies to contrast risk factors of female gang involvement for girls who are pressured to join but resist gang membership versus those who are gang-involved. Method: Female adolescents from a Midwestern county (n 7,513; 7th – 12th grades) self-reported whether they were currently or had been a member of a gang, whether they had been pressured but resisted gang involvement, or whether they had no current or past gang involvement. Self-report measures assessed family conflict, family gang involvement, delinquency, aggression, a history of sexual/physical abuse, and whether they had run away or had been kicked out of their home. Results: Females involved in gangs reported a significantly greater history of running away from home, family gang involvement, and greater levels of aggressive and delinquent behaviors than girls with no gang involvement. Gang-involved girls experienced greater levels of sexual abuse, family conflict, and less parental monitoring compared with the pressured-to-join group. Conclusions: Sexual abuse, family conflict, and low parental monitoring appear to differentiate girls who join a gang versus those girls who are recruited but resist. Thus, adults and professionals working with girls who are at-risk for gang involvement should assess potential sexual abuse and family conflict in the home. Professionals working directly with gang-involved girls should provide opportunities for these young women to safely address their trauma history before engaging in efforts to change behaviors.

Do specific transitional patterns of antisocial behavior during adolescence increase risk for problems in young adulthood?

Latent transition analysis was used to identify patterns and trajectories of antisocial behavior (ASB) and their association with young adult outcomes in a nationally representative sample of adolescents (N = 5,422; 53.9% female). Participants were on average 13.96 years of age (SD = 1.06) at wave 1 of the study. Latent class analysis identified four classes of ASB including a non-ASB class, an aggressive class, a petty theft class, and a serious ASB class. In general, youth who were classified as serious stable ASB were the most at risk for problematic functioning in young adulthood. Youth who escalated to more serious patterns of ASB or reduced involvement also were at greater risk of negative outcomes in young adulthood compared to stable non-ASB youth, although they generally fared better than youth involved in stable patterns of more serious ASB. Gender differences indicated that involvement in ASB was a greater risk factor for alcohol use among boys and a greater risk factor for depression among girls in young adulthood. Results are discussed in terms of the predictive validity of classes of ASB to functioning in young adulthood and the implications of this research for prevention efforts.

A violent mix? The association between concurrent alcohol and cocaine use and violence amongst young people in England and Wales

Aim: This study explored the association between concurrent alcohol and cocaine use and its predictive probability of self-reported violent behaviour. Methods: A series of logistic regression models were run on a sample of 3098 young people (aged 16–25) from a national self-report study. Findings: Current cocaine use was identified as predictive of violent offending (Exp B = 2.363, p ≤ 0.01). Cocaine use was also more likely in those reporting heavy episodic drinking. Whilst findings suggested an additive risk for both heavy episodic drinking and cocaine consumption, there was no evidence of a multiplicative risk associated with concurrent use on the probability of assault outcomes. Results also suggest that heavy episodic alcohol drinking was mediated by experience of violent victimization and having been involved in anti-social behaviour. Conclusions: Findings suggest that whilst interventions aimed at reducing drinking or cocaine consumption are likely to have some effect in reducing offending behaviour, attention should also be given to other individual level factors such as prior violent victimization and wider involvement in anti-social behaviour as these may be confounded as part of a wider substance misusing lifestyle or associated with violence as part as a wider repertoire of anti-social behaviour.

High Rates of Mental Illness Associated With Gang Membership

A study of gang members raises the question of whether targeted efforts to address mental disorders in this group would reduce their involvement in antisocial behaviors, including violence.

Parent and Peer Restrictions of Opportunities Attenuate the Link between Low Self‐control and Antisocial Behavior

AbstractFocusing on parents and peers as restrictors of opportunities, this study tested whether restricted opportunities attenuate the link between low self‐control and antisocial behavior as hypothesized by theGeneralTheory ofCrime. Early adolescents (N=180,Mage=12.04 years, 49.4 percent female, 49 percentEuropeanAmerican, 45 percentAfricanAmerican) reported their levels of self‐control, antisocial peer involvement, unsupervised time, parental solicitation, family rules, and involvement in antisocial behavior. Low levels of antisocial peer involvement and high levels of parental supervision, solicitation, and family rules were conceptualized as restricted opportunities for antisocial behavior. Opportunity restrictions attenuated the association between low self‐control and antisocial behavior such that low self‐control was less strongly associated with antisocial behavior when youth experienced less antisocial peer involvement, less unsupervised time, more parental solicitation, and more family rules than when youth experienced more antisocial peer involvement, more unsupervised time, less parental solicitation, and fewer family rules. Results clarify and extend our understanding of the role of restricted opportunities for low self‐control youth in theGeneralTheory ofCrime.

Moral vs. non-moral attribution in adolescence: Environmental and behavioural correlates

According to the domain theory, moral rules are universal, not contingent on rules and authority, and are activated by avoiding harm to other people. Not all individuals, however, interpret moral events in terms of domain in a similar manner. The hypotheses of the present research were: (i) a high exposure to deviant context will affect the manner in which adolescents interpret moral events and their involvement in antisocial behaviour; (ii) the moral attribution style will directly affect involvement in antisocial behaviour and mediate the relationship between deviant context and antisocial behaviour. Four hundred fifty-three adolescents completed self-report questionnaires about their involvement in antisocial behaviours, their friends' involvement, and their exposure to community violence as a witness. Moral versus non-moral attribution (MNMA) was evaluated through a questionnaire consisting of hypothetical scenarios of moral violations followed by questions related to the above-mentioned criteria. Findings, obtained testing a model, were consistent with the hypotheses. Adolescents who live in violent contexts and attend deviant friends tend to interpret moral violation in terms of non-moral domains and are more engaged in antisocial behaviours. Results are discussed with respect to the literature about normativeness of deviance and its consequences.

Cross-Cultural Findings on Community Violence Exposure and Internalizing Psychopathology: Comparing Adolescents in the United States, Russia, and Belgium

The study aimed to investigate cross-cultural differences in the relation between community violence and psychopathology. A self-report survey was conducted in a representative sample of 3,309 14-17year old adolescents from urban communities in the US (N=1,343), Belgium (N=946) and Russia (N=1,009). In all three countries, boys reported higher prevalences of violence exposure and more victimization by community violence than girls. Controlling for involvement in antisocial behavior, levels of psychopathology increased along with severity of exposure to community violence (from no exposure to witnessing to victimization). The associations between community violence and internalizing problems were similar across countries and gender. Current findings suggest that the relationships between community violence and adolescent mental health are not culture bound and that they follow similar dynamics in different populations. Clinical implications and directions are discussed.

The Social Functions of Antisocial Behavior: Considerations for School Violence Prevention Strategies for Students with Disabilities

Research on school social dynamics suggests that antisocial behavior is often supported by peer group processes particularly during late childhood and adolescence. Building from a social interactional framework, this article explores how information on the social functions of aggressive and disruptive behavior may help to guide function-based interventions to prevent the involvement of students with disabilities in antisocial behavior. The conceptual foundations of a functional perspective of problem behavior are reviewed along with empirical research on the social factors and processes that contribute to the development and maintenance of antisocial patterns. From this background, the social problems that may occur among students with disabilities are examined as potential risk factors for involvement in antisocial behavior and implications for assessment and intervention are considered from a social functions perspective.

Identifying children’s perspectives on anti-social behaviour: Variations by home area and the implications

The paper examines the views of children living in contrasting British suburbs: exploring their perceptions of the occurrence of anti-social behaviour (ASB), their anxieties about different types of incident, and their views on appropriate punishments. Based on interviews with over 260 children aged 11–16 years, and 44 adults with a professional involvement in ASB, the evidence shows that the influence of home area on children’s perspectives of ASB varies according to the type of ASB under consideration. For ‘interpersonal’ ASB, children appear especially sensitive in the poorer area, where this ASB is much more common. Theories of normalisation regarding interpersonal ASB are not supported, as children in the poorer area are sensitised to the problems, rather than hardened, arguing for an urgent policy response. Regarding environmental ASB and the role of home area, the findings are reversed, and theories of normalisation are supported. Children’s lesser concerns about environmental ASB in the poorer, most affected area, pose rather different challenges to policy-makers, arguing for the selection of effective reduction measures at a local level, designed to better reflect the differing views of children in different areas. Identifying children’s perspectives brings new understandings to the multiple geographies of ASB, highlighting the importance of distinguishing between different types of ASB and raising awareness of the ways in which children’s perspectives may be similar and different from adults’ views. Our findings argue strongly for the central role of area in theoretical and applied ASB research, and a continuing emphasis on ‘the local’.

Effects of Parental Monitoring and Exposure to Community Violence on Antisocial Behavior and Anxiety/Depression Among Adolescents

The aim of the research was to investigate the influence of gender, exposure to community violence, and parental monitoring upon antisocial behavior and anxiety/depression in adolescence. Involved in the study were 489 adolescents (290 males and 189 females) from 4 secondary schools in the city of Naples, Italy. The age of participants ranged from 16 to 19 (mean age = 17.53, standard deviation = 1.24). All were in the 3rd (11th grade) or 5th year (13th grade) of high school. Self-reported measures were used to assess antisocial behavior, symptoms of anxiety/depression, parental monitoring and exposure to community violence as a victim or as a witness. First of all we tested, through a hierarchical multiple regression, the independent contribution of gender, exposure to community violence and parental monitoring upon antisocial behavior and symptoms of anxiety/depression; then we tested the moderating role of gender and parental monitoring on the negative effects of exposure to violence. The results show that male gender, high level of exposure to community violence (both as a victim and a witness), and low level of parental monitoring predict a higher involvement in antisocial behavior. Female gender, being a victim and low level of parental monitoring predict symptoms of anxiety/depression. Furthermore, parental monitoring and gender play a moderating role, minimizing or amplifying the negative effects of exposure to community violence. The results of the research suggest that a similar pattern of risk and protective factors can give rise to multiple paths of adaptive or maladaptive development.

Can at-risk young adolescents be popular and anti-social? Sociometric status groups, anti-social behaviour, gender and ethnic background

This study aimed to extend the understanding of anti-social behaviour and its association with popularity and sociometric status in a sample of at-risk adolescents from diverse ethnic backgrounds (n = 1491, average age 14.7 years). Both overt and covert types of anti-social behaviour were used to distinguish subgroups. These subgroups were created on the basis of anti-social behaviour profile scores, using Latent Class Analysis. Moderator effects of gender and ethnic background were investigated using a log-linear analysis. The main finding was that each sociometric status group consisted of subgroups that differed in terms of prevalence of self-reported anti-social behaviour. At-risk young adolescents who reported involvement in anti-social behaviour appeared in every status group, including the popular group. Implications for school prevention programmes for anti-social behaviour are discussed.