Pittsburgh Youth Study Research Articles

Serious delinquent behavior, sensation seeking, and electrodermal arousal.

Low tonic skin conductance level (SCL) has been related, inconsistently, to both delinquency and sensation-seeking. This study tests the hypothesis that there is an interaction such that high sensation seeking delinquents, in particular, have low SCLs. Participants consisted of 335 boys from the Pittsburgh Youth Study classified as serious delinquents or controls based upon 10 years of prospectively collected self-report delinquency data. Participants' skin conductance was evaluated at age 16 along with several personality and neuropsychological measures. Both delinquency and sensation seeking were characterized by low SCL. However, there was no evidence to suggest that the presence of both of these factors together lead to especially low skin conductance levels. This finding is not explained by differences between the groups on measures of negative emotionality, IQ, socioeconomic status, or impulsivity.

Male mental health problems, psychopathy, and personality traits: key findings from the first 14 years of the Pittsburgh Youth Study.

This paper reviews key findings on juvenile mental health problems in boys, psychopathy, and personality traits, obtained in the first 14 years of studies using data from the Pittsburgh Youth Study. This is a study of 3 samples, each of about 500 boys initially randomly drawn from boys in the 1st, 4th, and 7th grades of public schools in Pittsburgh. The boys have been followed regularly, initially each half year, and later at yearly intervals. Currently, the oldest boys are about 25 years old, whereas the youngest boys are about 19. Findings are presented on the prevalence and interrelation of disruptive behaviors, ADHD, and depressed mood. Results concerning risk factors for these outcomes are reviewed. Psychological factors such as psychopathy, impulsivity, and personality are described. The paper closes with findings on service delivery of boys with mental health problems.

Media Review: Antisocial Behavior and Mental Health Problems: Explanatory Factors in Childhood and Adolescence

Neighborhood teenagers hang out on the corner and bully younger children walking by. The local newspaper carries accounts of the growing problem the children in your community and state have with drugs and alcohol. Children of any age can exhibit problem behavior, and this has an effect on families, schools, and society. Research abounds on efforts to intervene in children's lives to prevent and reduce antisocial behavior and increase proactive strategies to support children (Cornell, 1999; Dwyer, Osher, & Warger, 1998; Kamps & Tankersley, 1996; Montague, Bergeron, & Lago-Delello, 1997). In light of recent incidents of school violence, books documenting research efforts to understand the mental health of our youths and what factors may be precursors to antisocial behavior are vital. Antisocial Behavior and Mental Health Problems, by Loeber, Farrington, Stouthamer-Loeber, and Van Kammen, is an excellent example of a readable book documenting a longitudinal study of first-, fourth-, and seventh-grade boys over more than a decade of their lives in a project called the Pittsburgh Youth Study (PYS). This book covers how the project started, how samples were selected, how measurements were administered, and what the baseline behaviors were in the three sample groups. The authors readily acknowledge that the book represents such a complete description of their efforts that they sacrificed more timely publication. They include updated research results throughout the course of their study to keep the information current. Chapter One sets the stage for the study. The Pittsburgh Youth Study began in 1987 and focused on understanding the behavior of boys in three different age groups and across the areas of juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, early sexual behavior, and mental health problems. The authors aimed to cover the following four areas in the book: 1. What are the prevalence and age of onset of delinquency, substance abuse, and early sexual behavior for three samples of boys at ages 7, 11, and 14? What are the average mental health problems for these ages? How strong are the relationships among these problem behaviors in each of the samples? 2. Which variables best explain individual differences among the boys in their manifestations of delinquency, substance abuse, early sexual behavior, and mental health problems? To what extent do explanatory factors vary with age? How accurately can boys with different outcomes be identified by risk scores based on hierarchical multiple regressions? 3. To what extent are explanatory factors that are associated with our outcome also associated with other outcomes? Are explanatory factors that are especially characteristic of boys who display many different problem behaviors different from explanatory factors associated with boys with few problems? 4. Do the results fit a general theory of juvenile problem behaviors, or is a differentiated theory more applicable? Chapter Two describes the data-collection procedures used in the PYS. Initial and 6month follow-up assessments were made on two cohorts of urban boys from the Pittsburgh Public Schools in the spring of 1987 and the spring of 1988. The initial screening included approximately 1,100 boys each in first, fourth, and seventh grades, and the follow-up was reduced to approximately 500 boys in each group. Screening samples matched the proportional ethnic make-up of each grade level. An enriched sample was obtained by developing a risk score constructed of antisocial, delinquent-like acts and was used to increase the likelihood that potential chronic offenders would be in the sample for statistical analysis. Data collection in each wave of the study included information from the boy, his caregiver, and his teacher. School and juvenile court records also were collected. Measurement procedures, instrumentation, and data-reduction methods are set out in Chapter Three. The authors describe in detail all the measures in both the initial and followup assessments and then the constructs used, which contain multiple measures in each assessment. …

Some benefits of dichotomization in psychiatric and criminological research

AbstractBackgroundThe product‐moment correlation r is widely used in criminology and psychiatry to measure strength of association. However, most criminological and psychiatric variables contravene its underlying assumptions.AimTo compare statistical measures of association based on dichotomous variables with the use of r.MethodExplanatory variables for delinquency are investigated in the Pittsburgh Youth Study using a sample of 506 boys aged 13–14.ResultsDichotomization does not necessarily cause a decrease in measured strength of associations. Conclusions about the most important explanatory variables for delinquency were not greatly affected by using dichotomous as opposed to continuous variables, by different dichotomization splits, or by using logistic versus OLS multiple regression. Non‐linear relationships, interaction effects and multiple risk factor individuals were easily studied using dichotomous data.ConclusionsDichotomization produces meaningful findings that are easily understandable to a wide audience. Measures of association for dichotomous variables, such as the odds ratio, have many advantages and are often more realistic and meaningful measures of strength of relationship than the product‐moment correlation r. Copyright © 2000 Whurr Publishers Ltd.

Developmental Aspects of Delinquency and Internalizing Problems and Their Association With Persistent Juvenile Substance Use Between Ages 7 and 18

Analyzed longitudinal data from 3 samples of the Pittsburgh Youth Study on boys ages 7 to 18 to examine the co-occurrence of persistent substance use with other problem behaviors, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), persistent delinquency, and persistent internalizing problems (i.e., depressed mood, anxiety, shy or withdrawn behavior). In preadolescence, persistent substance users also tended to be persistent delinquents, and half of this group displayed persistent internalizing problems as well. In adolescence, a third of the persistent substance users did not manifest other persistent problems. Across the samples, the least common substance users were those who manifested persistent internalizing problems only. Logistic regression analyses showed that persistent substance use in preadolescence was predicted by persistent delinquency and internalizing problems and in adolescence by persistent delinquency only. The combination of persistent substance use and delinquency was predicted by oppositional defiant disorder in middle childhood and by persistent internalizing problems in middle to late childhood. ADHD was not a predictor of persistent substance use (and delinquency) in any of the analyses. Results are discussed in terms of developmental models of multiproblem youth with an eye on improving early interventions.

Antisocial behavior and mental health problems: explanatory factors in childhood and adolescence

Epidemiological surveys have provided key information about the prevalence and degree of seriousness at different ages of a wide array of problem behaviors such as delinquency, substance use, early sexual involvement, and mental health disorders. Knowledge of the extent of these problems and changes in their course over time is important. In its absence, interventions and health planning in general can be difficult. Understanding which risk and protective factors are relevant to which problem behaviors is also essential for the formulation of theories that constitute the basis of intervention. This book draws on the results of the major Pittsburgh Youth Study complemented by follow-up tracking of juvenile court records for more than six years, to address the following questions: *What is the prevalence and age of onset of delinquency, substance use, and early sexual behavior for three samples of boys age 8, 11, and 14? What are the average mental health problems for these ages? How strong are the relationships among these problem behaviors in each of the samples? *Which variables best explain individual differences among the boys in their manifestations of delinquency, substance use, early sexual behavior, and mental health problems? To what extent do explanatory factors vary with age? How accurately can boys with different outcomes be identified by risk scores based on hierarchical multiple regressions? *To what extent are explanatory factors associated with one outcome that are also associated with other outcomes? Are explanatory factors that are especially characteristic of a multiproblem group of boys--who display many different problem behaviors--different from explanatory factors associated with boys with few problems? *Do the results fit a general theory of juvenile problem behaviors, or is a differentiated theory more applicable?

SELF‐REPORTED DELINQUENCY AND A COMBINED DELINQUENCY SERIOUSNESS SCALE BASED ON BOYS, MOTHERS, AND TEACHERS: CONCURRENT AND PREDICTIVE VALIDITY FOR AFRICAN‐AMERICANS AND CAUCASIANS*

The Pittsburgh Youth Study is a prospective longitudinal survey of three samples of Pittsburgh boys (each containing about 500 boys) initially studied in first, fourth, and seventh grades. The first two data collection waves yielded self‐reported delinquency and combined delinquency seriousness scores (the combined scores based on information from boy, mother, and teacher) for the middle sample (up to an average age of 10.7 years) and oldest sample (up to an average age of 13.9 years). These scores were compared with records of petitions to the Allegheny County Juvenile Court for delinquency offenses before and up to six years after the assessments. The area under the ROC curve was used as a measure of validity. Concurrent validity was higher than predictive validity. The combined scale had similar concurrent validity but greater predictive validity than the self‐report scale, and the combined scale also identified a greater number of boys as serious delinquents. Concurrent validity for admitting offenses was higher for Caucasians, but concurrent validity for admitting arrests was higher for African‐Americans. There were no consistent ethnic differences in predictive validity. There was an increase in predictive validity, for both African‐Americans and Caucasians, by combining self‐report data with information from other sources. Afrer controlling for delinquency measures, African‐Americans were more likely than Caucasians to be petitioned in the future, but not in the past. In this research, ethnic differences in official delinquency were partly attributable to ethnic differences in delinquent behavior and were not attributable to differential ethnic attrition or differential ethnic validity of measures of delinquent behavior.

A shortened child behavior checklist for delinquency studies

This study examines the reduction of the number of items in the scales of the Child Behavior Checklist, while maintaining the reliability and predictability of its original scales. For that purpose, the original scales were replicated with data from the Pittsburgh Youth Study. New, abbreviated scales were constructed using the most potent items. This process yielded trimmed scales that were highly correlated with the full scales and that still reflect the original meanings of the scales. Further, there was no loss of reliability or predictability with the trimmed as opposed to the full scales. The results were replicated in an analysis with identical variables from the Rochester Youth Development Study. This replication produced equally high reliabilities with similar levels of prediction of delinquent behavior.