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.

Childhood maltreatment and psychopathy in Chinese juvenile offenders: person-centered perspective.

BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment stands as a salient risk factor in the etiology of juvenile delinquency, with a profound impact on the behavioral trajectories of young offenders. However, there is limited research on latent profile analysis to explore distinctive patterns of childhood maltreatment in Chinese juvenile offenders. Consequently, there is a lack of understanding regarding the associations between maltreatment profiles and relevant variables in this context. The present study aimed to explore meaningful subgroups of childhood maltreatment in juvenile offenders, and we further examined the associations between subgroups and multiple outcomes especially psychopathy. METHODS: The data was obtained from a sample of Chinese juvenile offenders (N = 625, M age = 17.22, SD = 1.23). This study employed a latent profile analysis (LPA) based on factor scores of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form to identify the subgroups and examined the differences across subgroups using outcomes variables including psychopathy, callous-unemotional traits, aggression and anxiety. This study includes three self-report measures to evaluate psychopathy, with due regard for the nuanced considerations on the factor structure inherent in the conceptualization of psychopathy. RESULTS: Two subgroups were identified, including the non-maltreatment subgroup (80.2%) and the maltreatment subgroup (19.8%). Maltreatment subgroup was characterized by a greater level of all types of maltreatment with particularly higher of emotion neglect. Besides, we found that maltreatment subgroup showed a significantly higher level of psychopathy across multiple self-report measures, and greater callous-unemotional traits, lack of empathy, aggression and anxiety. We found two subgroups of child maltreatment in Chinese juvenile offenders. CONCLUSIONS: These findings may provide a further understanding of childhood maltreatment and the clinical intervention on psychopathy in the early period.

Evolution, the Cognitive Sciences, and the Science of Victimization.

Despite clear aversion to such labels, one of the most impactful criminological theories is rooted in cognitive science. Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory has been repeatedly tested, replicated relatively well, and has since reached beyond its original scope to explain other important outcomes like victimization. However, the work never viewed itself as part of a larger scientific landscape and resisted the incursion of neuroscience, cognitive science, and evolutionary theory from the start. This missed opportunity contributes to some of the theory's shortcomings. We begin by considering relevant literatures that were originally excluded and then conduct a new analysis examining the cognitive underpinnings of victimization in a high-risk sample of adolescents. We used the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 3,444; 48% female; 49% Black, 25% Hispanic) which contained sound measures of self-control and intelligence, as well as four types of adolescent victimization. Self-control was robustly associated with all forms of victimization, whereas intelligence had generally no detectable effect. We discuss how these findings fit into a broader understanding about self-control and victimization.

Promotive, Mixed, and Risk Effects of Individual Items Comprising the SAPROF Assessment Tool With Justice-Involved Youth.

The Structured Assessment of PROtective Factors for violence risk (SAPROF) is a widely used structured professional judgment (SPJ) tool. Its indices have predictive validity regarding desistance from future violence in adult correctional/forensic psychiatric populations. Although not intended for applied use with youth, SAPROF items lend themselves to an investigation of whether their operationalizations capture only strengths or also risks. With 229 justice-involved male adolescents followed for a fixed 3-year period, promotive, risk, and mixed effects were found. Most SAPROF items exerted a mixed effect, being associated with higher and lower likelihoods of violent and any reoffending at opposite ends of their trichotomous ratings. Summing items weighted using their promotive and risk odds ratios produced statistically significant improvements in predictive accuracy, improvements found also with a cross-validation sample of 171 justice-involved youth. The nature of strengths and implications for the development of SPJ tools and training in their use were discussed.

Religiosity and Associations with Substance Use and Delinquency Among Urban African American Adolescents.

Adolescent delinquency and substance use are global problems. African American adolescents are especially susceptible to the life-changing consequences of these problem behaviors. Religiosity is a notable protective factor that has been shown to mitigate these behaviors. This study uses a person-centered approach to examine the extent to which religiosity is associated with lower rates of delinquency and substance use among urban African American adolescents in the United States. Latent Class Analysis was used to examine the heterogeneity in five religiosity items among a sample of adolescents ages 13-18. After identifying religiosity classes through a class enumeration process, we examined predictors of the classes using multinomial logistic regression. The classes were then used to predict several substance use and delinquency outcomes. Three religiosity classes were identified; "low religious beliefs and engagement," (15.19%, n = 94), "religious with low active engagement," (56.70%, n = 351), and "religious with high active engagement," (28.11%, n = 174). Protective effects of religiosity on substance use (e.g., alcohol) and delinquency were found (e.g., assault). Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Cognitive-behavioral reciprocity: Testing the bidirectional relationship between antisocial cognition and delinquency.

OBJECTIVE: Although reciprocity between variables is a topic of interest in the field of criminology, we cannot simply assume that all or even most criminological relationships are bidirectional without testing them empirically. The objective of the current investigation was to test whether delinquency and antisocial cognition are reciprocally or bidirectionally related. HYPOTHESES: The hypotheses evaluated as part of the present study proposed that antisocial cognition would predict delinquency, delinquency would predict antisocial cognition, and bidirectional models would display significantly better fit than the unidirectional models on which they are based. METHOD: Using data from the Pathways to Desistance study (1,354 serious justice-involved youths), I explored whether antisocial cognition predicts delinquency and a change in delinquency and whether delinquency predicts antisocial cognition and a change in antisocial cognition. I paired two forms of antisocial cognition-moral neutralization and cognitive impulsivity-with delinquency to predict a single future outcome with a zero-order correlation and a lagged outcome or change with a partial correlation. RESULTS: Findings showed that 40 out of 40 prospective zero-order correlations and 36 out of 40 prospective partial correlations achieved significance, with moderate and small effect sizes, respectively. Structural equation modeling revealed that the bidirectional models linking moral neutralization to delinquency and cognitive impulsivity to delinquency using lagged outcome measures both achieved significantly better fit than the unidimensional models on which they were based. CONCLUSION: The results of this study are congruent with the conclusion that the relationship between antisocial cognition and delinquency is reciprocal and that antisocial cognition is as much a predictor of delinquency as delinquency is a predictor of antisocial cognition. Thus, both patterns need to be taken into account for the purposes of theory integration in criminology, clinical practice in forensic psychology, and policy implementation in criminal justice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

From Social Rejection to Welfare Oblivion: Health and Mental Health in Juvenile Justice in Brazil, Colombia and Spain.

(1) Background: This study aims to examine and describe the policies of three Latin American countries: Colombia, Brazil, and Spain, and identify how they implement their support systems for health, mental health, mental health for children and adolescents, and juvenile justice systems that support judicial measures with treatment and/or therapeutic approaches specialized in mental health. (2) Methods: Google Scholar, Medline, and Scopus databases were searched to identify and synthesize of the literature. (3) Results: Three shared categories were extracted to construct the defining features of public policies on mental health care in juvenile justice: (i.) models of health and mental health care, (ii.) community-based child and adolescent mental health care, and (iii.) mental health care and treatment in juvenile justice. (4) Conclusions: Juvenile justice in these three countries lacks a specialized system to deal with this problem, nor have procedures been designed to specifically address these situations within the framework of children's rights.

Network structure of the links between extracurricular time-use and delinquent behaviors: Moving forward and beyond linear relations.

Using psychological network analysis, this study explored the heterogeneity of the network structure between extracurricular time-use and delinquency using a nationally representative longitudinal survey of at-school students in China (N = 10,279, 47.3% female, average age 13.6, 91.2% Han ethnicity). The results are threefold: First, time stimulation of activities occurs on weekdays, while time displacement and stimulation occur on weekends. Second, delinquent behaviors are positively correlated, forming a problem behavior syndrome. Smoking or drinking is the central delinquent behavior. Third, negative consequences of specific time-use behaviors are more likely to occur on weekends than on weekdays, and time-use behavior may function differently on weekdays versus weekends. Among them, going to coffeenets or game-centers serves as the bridge with the highest potential of triggering delinquency.

Counseling services leading to desistance by way of a change in certainty perceptions and cognitive agency beliefs.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether receiving counseling services reduced future offending in a group of seriously delinquent youths through a process of chaining. In this process, a youth's perceived certainty of punishment and an increase in their cognitive agency or control mediated the services-offending relationship. HYPOTHESIS: The main hypothesis was that where perceptions of certainty preceded cognitive agency beliefs (perceived certainty → cognitive agency), the (target) pathway would be significant, and where cognitive agency beliefs preceded perceptions of certainty (cognitive agency → perceived certainty), the (comparison) pathway would be nonsignificant. The difference between the target and comparison pathways was also predicted to be significant. METHOD: This study modeled change in 1,354 (1,170 boys, 184 girls) justice-involved youths from the Pathways to Desistance study. The number of counseling services accessed by a participant within 6 months of the baseline (Wave 1) interview served as the independent variable, and self-reported offending 12-18 months later (Wave 4) served as the dependent variable. Perceived certainty of punishment and cognitive agency were cross-lagged at Waves 2 and 3 and served as mediators. RESULTS: Consistent with the research hypothesis, results showed that the total indirect effect from services to delinquency through perceived certainty and cognitive agency was significant, the total indirect effect from services to cognitive agency to perceived certainty was nonsignificant, and the difference between the two effects was significant. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that turning points do not have to be major life events to bring about desistance and that chaining in which perceptions of certainty precede cognitive agency beliefs may play a vital role in the change process. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Associations between Self-Silencing and Delinquency in Adolescent Who Experienced Child Sexual Abuse.

A large body of research reveals that child sexual abuse is an adverse experience associated with many negative socioemotional and behavioral consequences during adolescence. Notably, adolescent victims of child sexual abuse are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior, which has importance for their adaptation later in life. While research on the psychological antecedents of delinquent behavior has independently considered each core feature of silencing the self (i.e., low assertiveness and self-expression, conflict avoidance, presenting a non-authentic self, anger, and hostility), it has failed to jointly consider these as potential predictors of delinquent behaviors in adolescent victims of child sexual abuse. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between the two dimensions of self-silencing (i.e., divided self and silencing the self) and delinquency in adolescent victims of child sexual abuse. A sample of 110 adolescents seeking services following child sexual abuse completed self-reported questionnaires, and case files were analyzed to gather information regarding child sexual abuse severity. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that, after controlling for the effect of age, gender, parental monitoring, and child sexual abuse severity, self-silencing was positively associated with delinquent behaviors, affiliation with delinquent peers, as well as alcohol and drug use. Divided self contributed to the prediction of aggressive behaviors. Implementing interventions aimed at increasing adolescents' assertiveness, conflict management skills, and emotion regulation and promoting congruence between their behaviors and authentic selves may lower their involvement in delinquency.

Examining the Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Juvenile Recidivism: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

While the impact of trauma on delinquency and offending has been studied in great depth, less is known about the cumulative effects of adverse childhood experiences and how these experiences impact recidivism or reoffending outcomes of youth who already have justice system involvement. The main aim of this paper is to report on the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis on the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and juvenile recidivism. Of particular interest, the paper examines to what extent, if any, ACEs can be used to predict youth reoffending outcomes, as well as investigates the nature of this relationship. The study utilizes quantitative metanalytical techniques to estimate the overall impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on youth reoffending. Sixteen studies were selected after a comprehensive search of electronic databases covering the fields of social science, criminology, psychology, or related fields. Key findings demonstrate that Adverse Childhood Experiences increase the risk of youth recidivism, with effects varying amongst sample sizes. Narrative synthesis also shows key gender, racial, and ethnic differences as well as potential mechanisms in the cumulative trauma-reoffending relationship. These findings can further guide research and policy in the areas of trauma, juvenile justice, and crime prevention.

Trauma and Gang Affiliation Increase Likelihood of Committing Assault among Juveniles Admitted to Secure Custody.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the prediction of involvement in serious physical assault from risk factors collected during routine screening of juveniles admitted to secure custody with a focus on trauma and gang affiliation and an exploration of gender differences in risk. METHODS: We analyzed administrative data collected on 879 juvenile offenders (93% boys; M age = 17 years; 71% Black, 19% Hispanic, 9% White, 1% other race/ethnicity), including extensive data on histories of trauma exposure and other risk as well as gang affiliation. RESULTS: We found that participation in serious assault was linked to gender, gang affiliation, and both witnessing and experiencing various traumatic events. Contrary to predictions, we did not observe a significant interaction between trauma histories and gang affiliation in predicting serious physical assault. CONCLUSIONS: Trauma and gang affiliation are critical yet understudied aspects of violence perpetration in the justice-involved youth population, particularly among clinical child and adolescent psychologists. These results underscore the importance of continued efforts by clinical psychologists to enhance research and practice related to these issues for this population.

Oral language skills, callous and unemotional traits and high-risk patterns of youth offending.

Extensive research has associated adolescent delinquent behavior with verbal deficits, yet for some subgroups of youth offenders better verbal ability has been associated with increased risk. This study examined associations between specific oral language skills and established markers of high-risk youth offending comprising callous and unemotional (CU) traits, early age of the first offence, and violent offending. Measures of language, CU traits, anxiety, as well as official youth justice data, were collected for adolescent male offenders and non-offenders (n = 130; aged 13-19 years; 62% youth offenders). Pragmatic language was found to be differentially associated with distinct variants of CU traits based on high/low levels of anxiety. Furthermore, among youth offenders with primary variant (low anxiety) CU traits, more violent offending was associated with better structural language skills, while earlier age of first offence was associated with better pragmatic language skills.

Investigating the Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI-2).

This study was done to prepare a Persian version of the MAYSI-2 and investigate its psychometric properties among the adolescents of the Juvenile Correction and Rehabilitation Center in Mashhad. By available study sample 329 male adolescents were selected. The findings showed that the Cronbach's alpha values for subscales were from .74 to .91. Compound reliability was also obtained in different scales between .72 and .98 indicating the optimal reliability of the scale. The CVR and CVI indicating the appropriate content validity. The results of CFA showed that the factor loading of the items was more than .5. The scale had good structural validity. The GFI of .90, IFI of .91, and RMSEA of .072 were all within the acceptable limits. Convergent and divergent validity indicators showed that the subscales benefited from the convergent validity. Our results showed that the Persian version of the MAYSI-2 had desirable psychometric properties. Therefore, it can be used for assessing mental health problems of juvenile delinquent and upcoming research.

Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychopathic Features Among Juvenile Offenders: Does it Matter Which Traits?

Psychopathic traits and a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are common among imprisoned individuals. Although previous research has examined correlates of TBI among juvenile offenders, little research has explored the relationship between psychopathic traits and TBI among this population. Study objectives included: (1) examine the association between the history of a TBI and psychopathic traits among juvenile offenders and (2) determine if the history of a TBI predicts the manifestation of different psychopathic factors among juvenile offenders. Cross-sectional data from the Multidimensional Youth Residential Inventory consisted of 226 juvenile offenders. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. Results of linear regression analyses showed that history of a TBI significantly predicted callous unemotional and impulsive irresponsible traits. Clinical implications suggest early intervention is needed to treat the potential long-term effects of TBIs and the development of psychopathic traits. Recommendations for further research are discussed.

Be Still and You Will Know: A Mixed-Method Study on Solitude and Consideration of Future Consequences Among Youth in Rehabilitation.

Although solitude is found to be undesirable to many, systematic practice of it can yield positive psychological outcomes. This mixed-method study explored the process and influence of solitude as a behavioral intervention among youths in a therapeutic community in Hong Kong. Qualitative interviews with 43 youths (67.4% male, mean age = 18.3) revealed that solitude facilitated growth in their sense of personal responsibility, increased perspective-taking, increased respect for rules, change in life attitudes, and growth in consideration of future consequences. A two-wave prospective study (n = 79, 82.3% male, mean age = 17.4) further demonstrated perceived meaningfulness in solitude predicted an increase in consideration of future consequences, but not in other types of behavioral intervention. This study preliminarily demonstrated solitude has beneficial outcomes among high-risk youths, and meaning-making can facilitate this relationship.

A latent profile analysis of child maltreatment among at-risk youth gang members: Associations with violent delinquency, non-violent delinquency, and gang organizational structures.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between child maltreatment and later delinquency is an enduring concern worldwide. However, the maltreatment-delinquency relationship is relatively underexplored in youth gang populations. Consequently, to date, studies have not examined typologies of maltreatment and their associations with violent delinquency, non-violent delinquency, and gang organizational structures. OBJECTIVE: First, to identify the characteristics of subgroups of youth gang members who varied in abuse type and severity within type. Second, to determine in what ways the profiles differed in terms of gang organizational structures, violent delinquency, and non-violent delinquency. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS: A sample of 161 youth gang members (mean age: 16.8; range: 12-24) were recruited and surveyed by outreach social workers in Hong Kong. METHODS: Latent profile analysis was first used to examine heterogeneity in victimization experiences (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect). Thereafter, non-parametric tests and post-hoc analyses were conducted to examine associations between the yielded typologies of maltreatment and gang organizational structures, violent delinquency, and non-violent delinquency. RESULTS: Poly-victimization was prevalent in the sample, with 148 respondents (91.9 %) reporting at least two types of past abuses. Three profiles of maltreatment emerged, varying in abuse types and severity within types: 'Minimally maltreated', 'Moderately maltreated, except sexual abuse', and 'Severely maltreated'. In comparison to the 'Minimal' maltreatment profile, the 'Moderate' and 'Severe' profiles were associated with greater delinquent behaviors and being in gangs that encouraged congregate illegal behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: There was a relationship between typologies of maltreatment and gang organizational structures, violent delinquency, and non-violent delinquency in the sample of youth gang members. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Juvenile Competency Complications: Protocol, Unmet Needs, Developmental Immaturity, FASD, and Comorbidity.

This Article focuses on unifying the protocol for state competency evaluations, but with special concerns about undiagnosed FASD and developmental immaturity in adolescents. States do not mandate any process whereby psychometric tests are first performed prior to psychiatric mental status evaluations, often causing disparities in evaluations which might easily be avoided in court proceedings. Adding to the complications in current competency evaluations are recent studies from Canada and Australia identifying exceptionally high rates of FASD in incarcerated adolescents following multi-disciplinary teams' studies directed at identifying FASD. If these studies' rates of FASD turn out to be similar for children in the U.S. juvenile justice system, then systemic reform is called for as we are failing to identify this congenital condition when adolescents enter the system and then continue on into the adult criminal system without recognition of their prenatal exposure to alcohol.

Agresividad en delincuentes juveniles colombianos y su relación con la agresividad parental / Aggressiveness in Colombian juvenile delinquents and its relationship with parental aggressiveness

La hostilidad de los padres puede generar en los niños la formación de estilos de pensamiento y acción que los pone en riesgo de desarrollar comportamientos inadaptados socialmente. Se realizó un estudio ex post facto cuantitativo de nivel descriptivo-correlacional para analizar los comportamientos agresivos en delincuentes juveniles colombianos y sus relaciones con los mismos comportamientos en sus padres y madres. Participaron 115 jóvenes (con sus madres y sus padres) de sexo masculino que estaban en internamiento preventivo por diferentes delitos. Se aplicaron cinco autoinformes para medir diferentes formas de agresividad en los jóvenes, sus madres y sus padres. Salvo en la hostilidad, los jóvenes tuvieron puntuaciones mayores que sus madres y/o sus padres en todas las demás formas de agresividad. Respecto a la agresividad apetitiva, los jóvenes y sus padres tuvieron mayores puntuaciones que sus madres. Se encontraron múltiples correlaciones entre las diferentes formas de agresividad de jóvenes, madres y padres. (AU)

Parental hostility can generate in children the formation of thinking and action styles that put them at risk of developing socially maladaptive behaviors. An ex post facto quantitative descriptive-correlational study was carried out to analyze aggressive behaviors in Colombian juvenile delinquents and their relationships with the same behaviors in their fathers and mothers. A total of 115 male juveniles (with their mothers and fathers) who were in pretrial detention for different offenses participated. Five self-reports were applied to measure different forms of aggressiveness in the youths, their mothers and fathers. Except for hostility, the youths had higher scores than their mothers and/or fathers in all other forms of aggression. Regarding appetitive aggression, youths and their fathers had higher scores than their mothers. Multiple correlations were found between the different forms of aggression of youths, mothers and fathers. (AU)

Differences in Offending Behaviors, Aggression, Substance Use, and Mental Health Problems between Male Drug Dealers and Non-Drug Dealers in Belgian Youth Detention Centers.

This study investigated whether drug dealing juvenile offenders in Belgium differ from non-drug dealers in levels of violent and non-violent offending behaviors, aggression, substance use, and mental health needs. The current study examined data from 226 16- to 17-year-old male juvenile offenders. Information relating to drug dealing, substance use, and mental health needs were collected through self-report questionnaires. A structured diagnostic interview was used to collect information about past violent and non-violent behaviors. Chi-square tests and multivariate analysis of variance compared non-dealers and dealers and explored if hard-drug dealers and soft-drug dealers differed from each other. Relative to non-drug dealers, drug dealers engaged in more violent offending behaviors, exhibited higher levels of aggression, substance use and oppositional defiant problems, and displayed lower levels of anxiety. Soft- and hard-drug dealers did not differ from each other. To conclude, detained drug dealers are characterized by severe antisocial behavior.