Range Of Antisocial Behaviors Research Articles

#WE SPEAK: exploring the experience of refugee youth through participatory research and poetry

ABSTRACTDespair and a sense of hopelessness have been uninvited fellow travellers for many refugees. Despite the myriad challenges facing refugee populations there are numerous barriers to accessing services in a South African context. This is especially true for refugee youth who often fall through the gap of support given to adults or children. This paper explores the benefits of following a narrative, reflexive approach to participatory action research with refugee youth living in Durban, South Africa. We conducted a series of workshops with a focus on creating safe dialogical spaces, identity and values, agency, social connection and performativity using a Critical Reflexive Framework. What emerged early in the research was a sense of despair due to challenges like poverty and xenophobia, making daily life stressful and unsafe. This was coupled with feelings of hopelessness in a future lacking in possibilities. When these feelings are not dealt with it can result in psychological distress and involvement in a range of antisocial behaviours. However, by following a strength-based methodology in creative interventions to re-member abilities, opportunities can be created for rendering hope and agency. The experience is explored through the voices of participants using narrative dialogical analysis and poetic inquiry.

Maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring antisocial behaviour: findings from a longitudinal investigation of discordant siblings

BackgroundAlthough many observational studies have found a strong association between maternal smoking during pregnancy (MSP) and offspring antisocial behaviour, the likelihood that this relationship is causal remains unclear. To comment...

Gender-specific predictors of at-risk adolescents\u2019 hazardous alcohol use\u2014a cohort study

BackgroundPrevious research has found strong associations between adolescents’ hazardous alcohol use and their perception of peer behavior, as well as own spending money and a range of antisocial behaviors. However, there is insufficient evidence of gender-specific predictors among adolescents with elevated antisocial behavior and alcohol use to design effective selective interventions. The aims of this study were to test short-term predictors of Heavy Episodic Drinking (HED) and risk-use of alcohol among 12-18-year-old females and males with elevated externalizing and delinquent behavior, and alcohol use.MethodsEighty-five females, 77 males, and their parents, originally recruited for a parent intervention, were assessed at baseline and 6 months later with several validated instruments measuring externalizing and internalizing behavior, alcohol use, psychosocial distress, and delinquency.ResultsThe perception of peer drinking significantly predicted both genders’ HED and risk-use, and also externalizing behavior predicted female risk-use. Rule-breaking behavior and social problems predicted both HED and risk-use among males, while rule-breaking predicted female HED and social problems predicted female risk-use. The parents’ ratings of externalizing behavior predicted only their sons’ risk-use. Lastly, no differences in prediction strength were found to be statistically significant differences between genders.ConclusionsFemales and males shared several predictors of hazardous alcohol use, and perception of peer drinking emerged as a strong predictor. This suggests that interventions may target both genders’ hazardous use of alcohol, and should address peer-resisting skills.

A Latent Class Analysis of Smokeless Tobacco Use in the United States

While there has been an escalating trend in the number of smokeless tobacco uses, mainly snuff, in the United States, it is unclear whether smokeless tobacco users are a homogenous class. The present investigation examines this question and identifies subtypes of smokeless tobacco users in order to better understand the characteristics of these individuals and guide appropriate intervention. Data on smokeless tobacco users (N=2504) derived from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions was employed. A range of antisocial behaviors, from reflecting non-violent deviant acts, irresponsibility, and a disengaged lifestyle, to aggression and violence were used to estimate the number of subtypes of smokeless tobacco users using latent class analysis. Four latent classes emerged: Normative Class (50.2%), Deviant Class (21.9%), Disengaging Class (17.2%), and Antisocial Class (10.5%). Logistic regression shows that major depression, alcohol use disorder, and marijuana use disorder were associated with Deviant Class (OR's from 2.0 to 10.5). The same array of psychiatric disorders and general anxiety disorder were associated with greater odds of membership in the Disengaging Class (OR's from 2.6 to 7.4). Aforementioned psychiatric disorders and illicit drug use disorder were associated with the Antisocial Class (OR's from 3.8 to 38.1). Findings indicate that smokeless tobacco users are a heterogeneous population that may benefit from differential intervention strategies.

Alley-gates in urban South Wales: Six years down the road

The introduction of crime prevention through environmental design initiatives such as alley-gating is now widespread across the United Kingdom. For practitioners and policymakers alike, erecting steel gates at entrances to alleys is seen as a major initiative for reducing domestic burglary and tackling a range of anti-social behaviours. In particular, in the current climate of economic austerity, such apparent cost-effective measures may seem more attractive to policymakers and planners alike, as they struggle to maintain public confidence in the criminal justice system and reduce levels of criminality. This article examines one such alley-gate initiative at Cadoxton, Barry, South Wales, based on a series of annual data collections and considers the long-term impact on recorded burglary statistics and local community perceptions of the effectiveness of the gates as well as considering any impact on long-term public support for such interventions.

Social gradients in child and adolescent antisocial behavior: a systematic review protocol.

BackgroundThe relationship between social position and physical health is well-established across a range of studies. The evidence base regarding social position and mental health is less well developed, particularly regarding the development of antisocial behavior. Some evidence demonstrates a social gradient in behavioral problems, with children from low-socioeconomic backgrounds experiencing more behavioral difficulties than children from high-socioeconomic families. Antisocial behavior is a heterogeneous concept that encompasses behaviors as diverse as physical fighting, vandalism, stealing, status violation and disobedience to adults. Whether all forms of antisocial behavior show identical social gradients is unclear from previous published research. The mechanisms underlying social gradients in antisocial behavior, such as neighborhood characteristics and family processes, have not been fully elucidated. This review will synthesize findings on the social gradient in antisocial behavior, considering variation across the range of antisocial behaviors and evidence regarding the mechanisms that might underlie the identified gradients.MethodsIn this review, an extensive manual and electronic literature search will be conducted for papers published from 1960 to 2011. The review will include empirical and quantitative studies of children and adolescents (<=18 years old) recruited from the general population, which include measures of both social position and antisocial behavior. A standardized data extraction form and quality appraisal checklist will be used to retrieve essential information and critically appraise each study and the inter-rater reliability of the quality scores will be assessed. If practical, meta-analysis will be used to synthesize the data. However, it is expected that the selected studies will be heterogeneous, in which case narrative synthesis will be applied. Separate conclusions may be drawn for logically grouped studies on the basis of their quality score, scope or methodology.DiscussionThis systematic review has been proposed in order to synthesize cross-disciplinary evidence of the social gradient in antisocial behavior and mechanisms underlying this effect. The results of the review will inform social policies aiming to reduce social inequalities and levels of antisocial behavior, and identify gaps in the present literature to guide further research.

Beyond Zero Tolerance: Providing a Framework to Promote Social Justice and Healthy Adolescent Development

Introduced initially in relation to drug policy, ‘zero tolerance’ has become a catchphrase to describe attitudes and policies relating to drug use, violence and a range of antisocial behaviours. It has been used particularly within schools in the United States as a disciplinary policy since the 1980s. While broadly ascribed, zero tolerance is designed to send a message that targeted behaviours are not tolerated and will be punished. Zero tolerance assumes that swift and uncompromising action aimed at punishing the offender will result in ‘sending a strong message’ to other would-be offenders and deter others from similar antisocial behaviours. However, thirty years of research has shown zero tolerance policies to have failed the individual and the community, resulting instead in increased rates of misbehaviour and early referral to the juvenile and criminal justice systems. This has the potential to negatively impact on the person's mental health and future outcomes.

Relations between Offending, Injury and Illness

The objectives of this study were to determine relations between offending and health, and how illness and injury relate to concurrent offending—whether offending predicts health or vice versa, and whether relations persist after adjustment for childhood predictors of offending. Data collected in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development were analysed. This is a prospective longitudinal survey of 411 South London males first recruited at age 8. Information about injuries and illnesses between ages 16 and 18 was set against information on offending and other types of antisocial behaviour.Males who were injured (especially in assaults) tended to be convicted, to be violent, to have unskilled manual jobs and to be generally antisocial. Respiratory tract illnesses were negatively related to convictions and antisocial behaviour in general. Drug users were significantly likely to be ill. Adult convictions were predicted by childhood troublesome behaviour, daring/hyperactivity, low IQ/attainment, a convicted parent, family disruption/poor supervision and poverty. Assault injuries and respiratory tract illnesses did not predict adult convictions independently of these childhood factors.It was concluded that injury is one symptom of an antisocial personality that arises in childhood and persists into adulthood. Therefore, measures that lead to a reduction in offending should also lead to a reduction in concurrent injuries. Negative relations between a range of antisocial behaviours and respiratory tract illness deserve further study.

Relations between offending, injury and illness.

The objectives of this study were to determine relations between offending and health, and how illness and injury relate to concurrent offending--whether offending predicts health or vice versa, and whether relations persist after adjustment for childhood predictors of offending. Data collected in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development were analysed. This is a prospective longitudinal survey of 411 South London males first recruited at age 8. Information about injuries and illnesses between ages 16 and 18 was set against information on offending and other types of antisocial behaviour. Males who were injured (especially in assaults) tended to be convicted, to be violent, to have unskilled manual jobs and to be generally antisocial. Respiratory tract illnesses were negatively related to convictions and antisocial behaviour in general. Drug users were significantly likely to be ill. Adult convictions were predicted by childhood troublesome behaviour, daring/hyperactivity, low IQ/attainment, a convicted parent, family disruption/poor supervision and poverty. Assault injuries and respiratory tract illnesses did not predict adult convictions independently of these childhood factors. It was concluded that injury is one symptom of an antisocial personality that arises in childhood and persists into adulthood. Therefore, measures that lead to a reduction in offending should also lead to a reduction in concurrent injuries. Negative relations between a range of antisocial behaviours and respiratory tract illness deserve further study.

Combining Ondansetron and Naltrexone Treats Biological Alcoholics: Corroboration of Self‐Reported Drinking by Serum Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin, A Biomarker

Recently, we showed by using self-report that combining ondansetron (4 microg/kg twice a day) and naltrexone (25 mg twice a day) was effective at reducing drinking and increasing abstinence among early-onset alcoholics (EOAs), who are characterized by a range of antisocial behaviors and high biological and familial disease predisposition. Here, we investigated whether the self-reported differences in drinking would be corroborated by measurements of serum carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) level, a sensitive, reliable, and well-validated marker of transient alcohol consumption. An 8-week double-blind clinical trial was performed in which 20 EOAs were randomized to receive ondansetron (4 microg/kg twice a day) and naltrexone (25 mg twice a day) or placebo as an adjunct to weekly standardized cognitive behavioral therapy. Serum CDT was assessed at weeks 0 (baseline), 4, and 8. Log serum CDT was significantly lower in the ondansetron and naltrexone group (group mean, 1.44 +/- 0.076) compared with the placebo group (group mean, 1.82 +/- 0.113), as evidenced by a main effect of group [F(1,15) = 7.2, p = 0.017; effect size = 0.32], visit [F(1,16) = 11.2, p = 0.004; effect size = 0.41], and an interaction between group and visit [F(1,16) = 27.54, p < 0.001; effect size = 0.63]. The combination of ondansetron plus naltrexone was superior to placebo at reducing serum CDT. This corroborated our self-reported drinking data and demonstrated that the medication combination is an effective treatment for EOAs.

Combining Ondansetron and Naltrexone Treats Biological Alcoholics: Corroboration of Self-Reported Drinking by Serum Carbohydrate Deficient Transferrin, A Biomarker

Background: Recently, we showed by using self-report that combining ondansetron (4 μg/kg twice a day) and naltrexone (25 mg twice a day) was effective at reducing drinking and increasing abstinence among early-onset alcoholics (EOAs), who are characterized by a range of antisocial behaviors and high biological and familial disease predisposition. Here, we investigated whether the self-reported differences in drinking would be corroborated by measurements of serum carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) level, a sensitive, reliable, and well-validated marker of transient alcohol consumption. Method: An 8-week double-blind clinical trial was performed in which 20 EOAs were randomized to receive ondansetron (4 μg/kg twice a day) and naltrexone (25 mg twice a day) or placebo as an adjunct to weekly standardized cognitive behavioral therapy. Serum CDT was assessed at weeks 0 (baseline), 4, and 8. Results: Log serum CDT was significantly lower in the ondansetron and naltrexone group (group mean, 1.44 ± 0.076) compared with the placebo group (group mean, 1.82 ± 0.113), as evidenced by a main effect of group [F (1,15) = 7.2, p= 0.017; effect size = 0.32], visit [F (1,16) = 11.2, p= 0.004; effect size = 0.41], and an interaction between group and visit [F (1,16) = 27.54, p < 0.001; effect size = 0.63]. Conclusions: The combination of ondansetron plus naltrexone was superior to placebo at reducing serum CDT. This corroborated our self-reported drinking data and demonstrated that the medication combination is an effective treatment for EOAs.