Changes in Restless Sleep, Self-Control, and Alcohol-Related Problems with Police from Late Adolescence to Adulthood.

Sleep quality is crucial for healthy adolescent brain development, which has downstream effects on self-control and involvement in risky behaviors, such as alcohol use. While previous studies have found that sleep and facets of self-control are associated with patterns of alcohol use, few have assessed whether these constructs are tied to alcohol-related problems with law enforcement during the transitional period from adolescence to adulthood. The current study uses self-report panel data from ages 16 to 27 from a population-based sample of U.S. youth (N = 956; 36.86% female). The goal of the current study is to assess the association between changes in restless sleep, impulsivity, sensation seeking, and problems with police during or shortly after consuming alcohol from adolescence to adulthood to begin to address this gap in the existing literature. Results from a multivariate latent growth curve model reveal that faster increases in restless sleep and slower declines in impulsivity are associated with slower declines in police contact. Correlated changes between restless sleep, impulsivity, and police contact are slightly greater from ages 16-21 than for ages 22-27, with males showing stronger associations. The reported results suggest that identifying developmental mechanisms between changes in poor sleep, impulsivity, and alcohol use behaviors during this life-course phase will be crucial moving forward to help divert youth away from alcohol-related contact with the police.

The Immigrant Experience and Alcohol Use: Heart Rate as a Source of Risk and Resilience.

The immigration experience in the USA has been linked to a wide range of behavioral and physical outcomes. Studies report that immigrants, relative to native-born citizens, are less likely to develop alcohol use habits despite facing hardship during the acculturation process. Limited research, however, has examined whether and to what extent resting heart rate (RHR) plays a role in accounting for individual differences in the acculturation process in the USA. To begin to address this gap in research, cross-sectional self-report data (N = 4775) from a nationally representative sample of US adults are analyzed to examine the association between the immigrant experience, alcohol use, and drunkenness. The role of low, mean, and high RHR on this association is investigated. The results reveal that respondents with higher levels of the immigrant experience report lower levels of alcohol use and drunkenness. RHR partially conditions the relationship between the immigrant experience and alcohol use, whereby respondents with higher levels of the immigrant experience and high RHR report less alcohol use and drunkenness, compared to more native respondents with low RHR. Immigrant experience and alcohol use were associated, but not with drunkenness among respondents with average RHR levels, relative to those with low RHR levels. The results suggest that RHR may be a potential source of both risk for and resilience to the development of alcohol use behaviors among immigrants going through the acculturation process in the USA.

Within-Individual Changes in Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking from Childhood to Early Adulthood and Educational Attainment.

Developmental perspectives recognize the importance of the development of impulsivity and sensation seeking for later life educational attainment. The current study examines the effect of developmental trajectories of impulsivity and sensation seeking across adolescence and into young adulthood on educational attainment in adulthood. The study sample consists of N = 5529 youth from a population-based sample from the United States (48.96% female; 46.95% Black or Hispanic). Latent growth curve models are used to examine associations between within-individual changes in impulsivity and sensation seeking and educational attainment. The findings point to the existence of multiple forms of risk taking during different developmental stages, with some offering a positive long-term effect on overall educational attainment.

The role of depressive symptoms between neighbourhood disorder, criminal justice contact, and suicidal ideation: Integrating an ecological stress model with General Strain Theory.

BACKGROUND: While much literature has examined the independent effect of perceived neighbourhood disorder on criminal behaviour and/or mental disorder, comparatively little is known about the role of depressive symptoms on these associations over time. AIMS: Our aim was to examine whether depressive symptoms mediate association between perceived neighbourhood disorder, future criminal justice contact, and future suicidal ideation. METHODS: We grounded this research in primary arguments derived from General Strain Theory (GST). Data were drawn from structured self-reports in surveys of over 2000 young adult participants from the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, who are the offspring born to the women from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. Information on neighbourhood disorder and depressive symptoms were used from the 2012 data collection period, while information on criminal justice contact and suicidal ideation were drawn from the 2014 period. Structural equation modelling was used to examine both direct and indirect pathways between neighbourhood disorder, depression, contact with the justice system, and suicidal ideation from 2012 to 2014. RESULTS: Depressive symptoms were found to partially mediate the effect of perceived neighbourhood disorder on future criminal justice contact, with the strength of this effect varying across categories of race/ethnicity. The association between perceived neighbourhood disorder and suicidal ideation was fully mediated by depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Our findings are consistent with an ecological stress framework integrated with arguments from GST to understand the associations between neighbourhood disorder, criminal justice contact, and severe mental illness. Future research is needed on gender and racial/ethnic pathways. The reported findings suggest that, in addition to neighbourhood improvements, ready access to mental health services could not only reduce the risk of suicide but support safer communities.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury as a Predictor of Classes of Youth Internalizing and Externalizing Psychopathology.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a developing public health problem. Evidence suggests that youth who suffer a mTBI experience worse outcomes than similar adults. However, the structure of long-term symptoms associated with mTBI is not well understood. The current study aims to determine if classes of youth psychopathology can be predicted by mTBI status. The current study analyzed a large sample of children and adolescents from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (n = 2978) to examine trajectories of psychopathologies. Using data from the Achenbach Childhood Behavior Checklist, latent classes of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology were identified. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine if mTBI predicted class membership, while controlling for a number of variables associated with psychopathology. The results of the current study suggest that mTBI may be an important transdiagnostic risk factor associated with developmental patterns of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology.

Correlates of school gun carrying among black, hispanic, and white male adolescents: Evidence from a nationally representative sample of youth.

Previous studies have found that individual, environmental, geographic, and demographic factors correlate with adolescent gun carrying. Comparatively less research has focused on identifying correlates of adolescent gun carrying to schools. The current study examined whether previously identified factors associated with adolescent gun carrying similarly predict adolescent school gun carrying. Logistic regression models were used to predict risk of school gun carrying among a nationally representative sample of adolescent males (n = 4559). Results revealed that a range of individual- and environmental-level factors increased the odds of school gun carrying, including a 13% increased likelihood of carrying a gun to school among individuals with more symptoms of anxiety and depression. Additionally, analyses indicated that several individual- and environmental-level factors differentially increase the likelihood of school gun carrying across race and ethnicity. Policies aimed at reducing gun carrying in schools should address both the known correlates of adolescent school gun carrying broadly and the specific correlates of gun carrying as they vary across particular groups of youth. Future research should attempt to replicate these and other studies findings across diverse samples of adolescents and identify other potential correlates of adolescent school gun carrying not previously addressed. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Mental health, school-level, and geographic factors are associated with school guncarrying differentially across race and ethnicity. Programming efforts may benefit fromconsidering the influence of race/ethnicity on dynamic risk factors for school guncarrying when designing and implementing school safety measures.

The Causal Relationship between Childhood Adversity and Developmental Trajectories of Delinquency: A Consideration of Genetic and Environmental Confounds.

An extensive line of research has found that children exposed to multiple forms of early life adversity are more likely to engage in high levels of delinquent behavior during adolescence. Several studies examining this association have used a range of multivariate statistical techniques capable of controlling for observable covariates. Fewer studies have used family-based research designs to additionally control for unobservable confounds, such as genetic and shared environmental influences, that may be associated with exposure to childhood adversity and delinquency. The current study analyzes self-report data on 2534 full-siblings (50% female) from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to conduct a sibling-comparison analysis to provide a rigorous test of the causal hypothesis that exposure to childhood adversity causes differences in developmental patterns of delinquent behavior. Results from multivariate latent growth curve models revealed that childhood adversity was associated with higher starting levels of delinquency during adolescence and slower rates of decline from adolescence to emerging adulthood. Results from multivariate sibling-comparison models, however, revealed that siblings exposed to higher levels of childhood adversity reported higher starting levels of delinquent behavior, but not slower declines over time, suggesting that childhood adversity may not be directly associated with long-term patterns of delinquent behavior after genetic and shared environmental factors are taken into account. Implications of these results for future research are discussed.

Sexual Orientation and Involvement in Nonviolent and Violent Delinquent Behaviors: Findings From the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health.

This study examined the association between sexual orientation and nonviolent and violent delinquency across the life course. We analyzed self-reported nonviolent and violent delinquency in a sample of heterosexual males (N = 5220-7023) and females (N = 5984-7875), bisexuals (N = 34-73), gay males (N = 145-189), and lesbians (N = 115-150) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). The analyses revealed, in general, that bisexuals were the most delinquent of the sexual orientation categories for both males and females. Additional analyses revealed that heterosexual males reported significantly higher levels of both violent and nonviolent delinquency than gay males, whereas lesbians reported more involvement in nonviolent delinquency and, to a lesser extent, violent delinquency relative to heterosexual females. Analyses also revealed that lesbians reported significantly more delinquent behavior, particularly for nonviolent delinquency, than gay males. Future research should explore the mechanisms that account for these observed patterns and how they can be used to more fully understand the etiology of delinquency.

Intelligence and early life mortality: Findings from a longitudinal sample of youth.

The current study examined whether adolescent IQ predicted risk for mortality by the age of 32. Analyses of data from the Add Health revealed that IQ was related to mortality risk, such that respondents with relatively lower IQs were significantly more likely to experience early life mortality when compared to respondents with relatively higher IQs. This association remained statistically significant even after controlling for a host of covariates such as race, gender, involvement in violent behaviors, levels of self-control, and poverty. The average IQ of deceased respondents was approximately 95, whereas the average IQ of living respondents was about 100.

The Association Between Psychopathic Personality Traits and Victimization and Exposure to Violence in a Sample of Saudi Arabian Youth.

Psychopathic personality traits have been shown to increase the odds of a wide range of antisocial outcomes. Very little research, however, has examined the association between psychopathy and the risk of personal victimization. The current study address this gap in the literature by examining the association between scores on the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy scale and a self-reported measure of victimization by using cross-sectional data drawn from a sample of youth residing in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (N = 311). The results revealed a positive and statistically significant association between LSPR scores and the odds of being victimized. Additional analyses revealed that two mediators-arrest history and exposure to delinquent peers-were related to personal victimization, but neither of these measures mediated the effects of LSPR scores on victimization. Whether these findings would generalize to other nations remains an issue awaiting future research.

Prenatal Caloric Intake and the Development of Academic Achievement Among U.S. Children From Ages 5 to 14.

Few studies have examined the relation between maternal caloric intake during pregnancy and growth in child academic achievement while controlling for important confounding influences. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, the current study examined the effects of reduced prenatal caloric intake on growth in scores on the Peabody Individual Achievement Test from ages 5 to 14. While models controlling for within-family covariates showed that prenatal caloric intake was associated with lower reading and mathematical achievement at age 5, models controlling for between-family covariates (such as maternal IQ) and unobserved familial confounders revealed only a statistically significant association between siblings differentially exposed to prenatal caloric intake and mathematical achievement at age 5.

Proposing a Pedigree Risk Measurement Strategy: Capturing the Intergenerational Transmission of Antisocial Behavior in a Nationally Representative Sample of Adults.

An impressive literature has revealed that variation in virtually every measurable phenotype is the result of a combination of genetic and environmental influences. Based on these findings, studies that fail to use genetically informed modeling strategies risk model misspecification and biased parameter estimates. Twin- and adoption-based research designs have frequently been used to overcome this limitation. Despite the many advantages of such approaches, many available datasets do not contain samples of twins, siblings or adoptees, making it impossible to utilize these modeling strategies. The current study proposes a measurement strategy for estimating the intergenerational transmission of antisocial behavior (ASB) within a nationally representative sample of singletons using an extended pedigree risk approach that relies on information from first- and second-degree relatives. An evaluation of this approach revealed a pattern of findings that directly aligned with studies examining ASB using more traditional twin- and adoption-based research designs. While the proposed pedigree risk approach is not capable of effectively isolating genetic and environmental influences, this overall alignment in results provides tentative evidence suggesting that the proposed pedigree risk measure effectively captures genetic influences. Future replication studies are necessary as this observation remains preliminary. Whenever possible, more traditional quantitative genetic methodologies should be favored, but the presented strategy remains a viable alternative for more limited samples.

Different Slopes for Different Folks: Genetic Influences on Growth in Delinquent Peer Association and Delinquency During Adolescence.

An extensive line of research has identified delinquent peer association as a salient environmental risk factor for delinquency, especially during adolescence. While previous research has found moderate-to-strong associations between exposure to delinquent peers and a variety of delinquent behaviors, comparatively less scholarship has focused on the genetic architecture of this association over the course of adolescence. Using a subsample of kinship pairs (N = 2379; 52% female) from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-Child and Young Adult Supplement (CNLSY), the present study examined the extent to which correlated individual differences in starting levels and developmental growth in delinquent peer pressure and self-reported delinquency were explained by additive genetic and environmental influences. Results from a series of biometric growth models revealed that 37% of the variance in correlated growth between delinquent peer pressure and self-reported delinquency was explained by additive genetic effects, while nonshared environmental effects accounted for the remaining 63% of the variance. Implications of these findings for interpreting the nexus between peer effects and adolescent delinquency are discussed.

Psychopathic personality traits and their influence on parenting quality: results from a nationally representative sample of Americans.

Psychopathic personality traits have consistently been found to predict a range of negative and dysfunctional outcomes. As a result, it is somewhat surprising that the research to date has failed to empirically examine the potential association between psychopathic personality traits and parenting quality. The current study addressed this omission in the literature by analyzing a community sample of adults. The results revealed that respondents scoring higher on psychopathic personality traits tended to report more negative parenting quality. These results were detected for both males and females and remained significant even after controlling for the effects of parental transmission and child-effects. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show a statistically significant association between psychopathic personality traits and parenting quality. We conclude with a discussion of what these findings mean for psychopathy research and the parenting the literature.

Alcohol Use and Moffitt's Maturity Gap Thesis for Adolescent Offending: An Evolutionary Perspective and Analysis.

While a wealth of research has focused on testing several arguments from Moffitt's developmental taxonomy of antisocial behavior-mainly the presence of life-course-persistent vs. adolescence-limited offending and predictors of each trajectory-much less attention has been devoted to examining how evolutionarily adaptive lifestyle factors common during adolescence may condition the relationship between the maturity gap and delinquent offending. One factor that may play a role during this period of development is alcohol use, as many adolescents begin to experiment with consuming alcohol in varying degrees in social settings to model adult-like behaviors. Yet presently much is unknown about the role of alcohol use on the association between the maturity gap and delinquency. The current study aims to address this void in the literature by analyzing data from a U.S. sample of adolescent males (N = 1,276) to assess whether alcohol use moderates the relationship between the maturity gap and delinquent behavior. Findings suggest that the maturity gap is associated with delinquent behavior and that the association becomes weaker at higher levels of alcohol use. The implications of these findings for Moffitt's maturity gap thesis and male offending from an evolutionary perspective are discussed.

Exposure to gun violence and handgun carrying from adolescence to adulthood.

RATIONALE: While empirical interest in understanding the mental health consequences surrounding gun violence has increased, currently there is much unknown about the long reach of childhood exposure to gun violence on handgun carrying across the life course. OBJECTIVE: The current study aims to evaluate the relations between witnessing gun violence before age 12 and subsequent handgun-carrying behavior from adolescence to adulthood in a nationally representative sample of U.S. youth. METHODS: Data from 15 waves from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997) are analyzed (Ns range from 5695 to 5875 participants). Categorical latent growth curve models are estimated to assess individual differences in handgun-carrying behavior over time and the relationships between childhood exposure to gun violence, initial levels during adolescence, and rates of change from adolescence to adulthood. RESULTS: Participants who reported witnessing seeing someone shot or shot at in childhood demonstrated higher odds of carrying a handgun in adolescence. Exposure to gun violence was not associated with changes in the odds of handgun carrying from adolescence to adulthood after controlling for theoretically relevant covariates. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood exposure to gun violence appears to be a risk factor for handgun carrying in adolescence. Nonetheless, other behaviors and demographic characteristics account for inter-individual differences in changes in handgun carrying across the life course.

Sleep duration, sleep quality, and weapon carrying in a sample of adolescents from Texas.

Objectives: Studies are beginning to document an association between sleep duration and a range of adolescent delinquent behaviors, including weapon carrying. However, little is known about whether and to what extent sleep quality - another dimension of sleep for healthy adolescent functioning - is associated with weapon carrying. We address this gap in knowledge by evaluating the role of restless sleep and sleep duration in adolescent weapon carrying. Methods: We analyze data from a diverse sample of 994 adolescents from Texas, USA collected in 2010. Multivariate logistic regression models estimate the association of sleep duration and restless sleep on weapon carrying after controlling for theoretical covariates and demographic characteristics. Results: Adolescents sleeping 4 h or less on school nights were more than twice as likely to report carrying a weapon (OR = 2.38, 95% CI = 1.16-4.89, p =.018). Sleeping 5-6 h was associated with higher odds of carrying a weapon, while 6-7 h and 8 or more hours were associated with lower odds; however, all associations were non-significant. Restless sleep was associated with weapon carrying at the bivariate level (Pearson χ2 (3) = 10.56, p =.014), but not at the multivariate (OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 0.91-1.32, p =.299). Conclusions: Our findings align with previous research demonstrating that sleeping 4 or less hours increases the likelihood of adolescent weapon carrying. Restless sleep appears to play less of a role. Future research should elucidate the longitudinal pathways between sleep duration, sleep quality, and forms of adolescent weapon carrying.

A Systematic Review of the Biological Correlates and Consequences of Childhood Maltreatment and Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Childhood maltreatment (CM) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are two primary forms of interpersonal victimization that have been associated with a host of deleterious health outcomes. Studies over the past decade have begun to use a range of biologically informed methods to better understand the role biology plays in the relationship between CM, ACEs, and later life outcomes. This line of research has shown that both forms of victimization occur at sensitive periods of development, which can increase the likelihood of "getting under the skin" and influence health and behavior across the life course. This review examines the current state of knowledge on this hypothesis. One hundred and ninety-nine studies are included in this systematic review based on criteria that they be written in English, use a biologically informed method, and be conducted on samples of humans. Results reveal that latent additive genetic influences, biological system functioning captured by biomarkers, polygenic risk scores, and neurobiological factors are commonly associated with exposure and response to CM and ACEs. The implication of these findings for the existing body of research on early life victimization and recommendations for future research and policy are discussed.

Child Maltreatment and Substance Use: A Behavior Genetic Analysis.

Child maltreatment is a pervasive social problem often perpetuated by family members and is related to a wide array of negative life outcomes. Although substance use is an outcome commonly associated with experiences of child maltreatment, not all individuals who experience maltreatment struggle with such issues. Many individuals can positively adapt to experiences of maltreatment based on levels of resilience and susceptibility. Research suggests that genetic differences may partly explain why negative outcomes develop for some, but not for others. Few studies have examined the extent to which genetic and environmental factors influence the longitudinal association between child maltreatment and varying forms of substance use, leaving a fundamental gap in our current understanding of this association. The current study aims to address this gap by analyzing a sample of twins from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Findings from a series of univariate and bivariate biometric models reveal that the longitudinal associations between maltreatment, cigarette use, and marijuana use are accounted for by additive genetic and nonshared environmental factors. Moreover, the magnitude of the contribution varies across unique subgroups of cigarette and marijuana use. Directions for future research and theoretical implications are discussed.

The association between the 2D:4D ratio and psychopathic characteristics.

Prior research has identified relations between prenatal testosterone exposure and various antisocial and criminal behaviors. However, less is known about the association between prenatal testosterone exposure and personality traits, such as psychopathy. This study used self-report and biometric data from a sample of undergraduates (n = 491) at a large southwestern university to examine the association between prenatal testosterone exposure (measured by the 2D:4D ratio) and three dimensions of psychopathy (i.e., callousness, egocentricity, and antisocial behavior). Analyses were stratified by sex to explore sex-specific biological underpinnings of psychopathy in young adulthood. Results showed that males scored significantly higher in psychopathic traits and reported significantly lower 2D:4D ratios, compared to females. Additionally, 2D:4D ratios were negatively associated with egocentricity in males, but not females. These findings contribute to a growing literature on the organizational effects that prenatal testosterone exposure may have on the development of different dimensions of psychopathy.