Reciprocal Effects of Positive Future Expectations, Threats to Safety, and Risk Behavior Across Adolescence.

We examined the reciprocal relationships among positive future expectations, expected threats to future safety, depression, and individual substance use and delinquency using 4 waves of data (N = 248-338) from African American and Latino adolescent male participants in the Chicago Youth Development Study. Individual positive future expectations and expected threats to safety were assessed at each wave and modeled as latent constructs. Individual substance use and delinquency were assessed at each wave and represented as ordinal variables ranging from low to high. Categorical autoregressive cross-lagged structural models were used to examine the hypothesized reciprocal relationships between both aspects of future expectations construct and risk behavior across adolescence. Analyses show that future expectations has important effects on youth substance use and involvement in delinquency, both of which in turn decrease positive expectations and increase expectation of threats to future safety across adolescence. Similarly, low positive expectations for the future continued to predict increased substance use and involvement in delinquency. The expected threats to safety construct was significantly correlated with delinquency within time. These effects are observed across adolescence after controlling for youth depression and race. Findings support the reciprocal effects hypothesis of a negative reinforcing cycle in the relationships between future expectations and both substance use and involvement in delinquent behavior across adolescence. The enduring nature of these relationships underscores the importance of future expectation as a potential change mechanism for intervention and prevention efforts to promote healthy development; vulnerable racial and ethnic minority male adolescents may especially benefit from such intervention.

Traumatic brain injury is highly associated with self-reported childhood trauma within a juvenile offender cohort.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To identify correlates of past traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a population of young offenders. RESEARCH DESIGN: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted on available data from a sample derived from the NSW Young People on Community Orders Health Survey. PROCEDURES: Study participants were administered questionnaires to collect history relating to past TBI, childhood trauma, substance abuse, and psychological/psychiatric symptoms and underwent assessments of intellectual functioning. Information on offending history was accessed through Juvenile Justice administrative records. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Analyses were undertaken on data from 788 young offenders (672 males and 116 females). A past TBI was reported in 39%. Symptoms of psychological distress were more prevalent in females. A history of TBI was associated with more symptoms on a Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, as well as higher psychological distress (K-10), and higher levels on standardized measures of anger/violence, post-traumatic stress, and substance abuse. CONCLUSIONS: The experience of early life trauma warrants further consideration as an antecedent to both childhood TBI and offending which might account for some of the previously observed association of mild TBI with subsequent offending behavior.

Declines in prevalence of adolescent substance use disorders and delinquent behaviors in the USA: a unitary trend?

BACKGROUND: Downward trends in a number of adolescent risk behaviors including violence, crime, and drug use have been observed in the USA in recent years. It is unknown whether these are separate trends or whether they might relate to a general reduction in propensity to engage in such behaviors. Our objectives were to quantify trends in substance use disorders (SUDs) and delinquent behaviors over the 2003-2014 period and to determine whether they might reflect a single trend in an Externalizing-like trait. METHODS: We analyzed data from 12 to 17 year old participants from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a representative survey of the household dwelling population of the USA, across the 2003-2014 period (N = 210 599). Outcomes included past-year prevalence of six categories of substance use disorder and six categories of delinquent behavior. RESULTS: Trend analysis suggested a net decline of 49% in mean number of SUDs and a 34% decline in delinquent behaviors over the 12-year period. Item Response Theory models were consistent with the interpretation that declines in each set of outcomes could be attributed to changes in mean levels of a latent, Externalizing-like trait. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that declines in SUDs and some delinquent behaviors reflect a single trend related to an Externalizing-like trait. Identifying the factors contributing to this trend may facilitate continued improvement across a spectrum of adolescent risk behaviors.

Abstention from Drug Use and Delinquency Increasing among Youth in the United States, 2002-2014.

BACKGROUND: Trends in abstaining from substance use and delinquency among adolescent's ages 12-17 in the United States was examined. METHODS: Data was derived from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) involving non-Hispanic white, African American, and Hispanic respondents (n = 98,620) and spanning the years 2002-2014. Logistic regression was used to examine significance of trend year and correlates of low-risk and high-risk behavioral groups relative to abstaining. RESULTS: Overall, the prevalence of abstaining was 47.56% between 2002 and 2014. Prevalence increased significantly among all adolescents from 44.85% in 2002 to 53.58% in 2014. Relative to abstainers nonabstaining youth were more likely to be male, and report lower household income, poorer grades, depression, and lower levels of parental affirmation and control. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate that there is a corresponding increase in abstaining mirroring the recent decreases found in adolescent drug use found in national surveys.

The prospective usefulness of callous-unemotional traits and conduct disorder in predicting treatment engagement among detained girls.

Although treatment engagement (TE) is crucial for treatment success it is not well known how likely detained girls are to engage in treatment and what features may impede them from doing so. This study is the first to examine the prognostic usefulness of two features of potential interest, being callous-unemotional (CU) traits and conduct disorder (CD), in relation to TE. Detained girls and their parents (n = 75) were interviewed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children to assess CD, and completed the Antisocial Process Screening Device to assess CU traits dimensionally and categorically as in the new diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) CU-based specifier. One to two months later, the girls reported how much they engaged in treatment. At the zero-order level, self-, but not parent-reported CU traits and CD were predictive of lower levels of TE. The incorporation of CU traits into a diagnosis of CD identified girls with lower levels of future TE, a finding that held across different informants. Of note, the aforementioned findings only became apparent when using a dimensional measure of CU traits, and not when using the categorical measure of CU traits currently included in DSM-5. This study showed that CU traits can help developing an understanding of what factors hinder TE among detained girls. Our findings also support recommendations to incorporate CU traits into the CD diagnosis, and suggest that dimensional approaches to do so may yield relevant information about future levels of TE.

Recent pregnancy trends among early adolescent girls in Japan.

AIM: The paper examines recent time trends, explores potentially influential background factors and discusses prevention strategies of pregnancy among girls under 15 years of age in Japan. METHODS: Using Japanese government data, we first analyzed time trends of early adolescence (<15 years of age) abortion, live birth and child sexual abuse from 2003 to 2010. Second, we analyzed ecological correlations of early adolescent pregnancy (abortion, live birth and stillbirth) with pregnancy in other age groups, child sexual abuse, and indicators of juvenile victimization and juvenile delinquency, using prefectural data. RESULTS: We found that rates of both abortion and live birth in early adolescents have increased since 2005 (annual percent change 5.3% and 2.3%, respectively), despite declining rates in older age groups. The abortion ratio in early adolescence remained the highest among all age groups in Japan. The early adolescent pregnancy rate showed significant correlation with the rates of juvenile victimization of welfare crimes (obscenity, alcohol drinking, smoking and drug use) (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient [rs] = 0.42, P = 0.00) and juvenile delinquency among junior high school students (12-14 years of age) (rs = 0.69, P = 0.00). CONCLUSION: The observed rise in rates of abortion, live birth and child sexual abuse among early adolescents along with strong ecological correlations of their pregnancy rate with juvenile victimization and delinquency indicators suggests that epidemiological investigation and public health programs at the individual and community levels are needed to address the complex social roots of these trends and to produce effective improvements in early adolescent reproductive health.

Time Trends in Psychopathology. A 21-year comparison from Germany.

OBJECTIVE: Time-trend studies are required to learn about children's mental health status in changing societies. Some international studies have already analyzed secular trends over periods of 10 to 25 years, but the results are inconsistent. Our study aims to detect German time trends of psychopathology in children aged 8-11, from the first large Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)-based study in Marburg/Germany 1987 until the present day (2008). METHOD: Parents filled in the CBCL to report psychopathological symptoms in their children. The school-based samples from the years 1987 and 2008 were matched for sex, age, and socioeconomic status. The matched samples each consists of 212 girls and boys (girls: 50.5 %, boys: 49.5 %). MANCOVAs and ANCOVAs were used to test differences in mean CBCL scale scores. RESULTS: Somatic symptoms showed a significant increase from 1987 to 2008. Similar trends were found for other internalizing symptoms, but did not reach significance. Externalizing symptoms showed no significant increase. Boys showed more aggressive or delinquent behavior and attention problems than girls. The children with the lowest socioeconomic status showed the highest symptom levels in both assessment years. CONCLUSIONS: The increase in somatic problems might be an effect of changes in expected school performance and economic aspects. The overall high rate of psychopathology in children highlights the necessity of effective prevention and intervention programs, particularly regarding families with lower socioeconomic status.

The long-term outcome of delinquent children: a 30-year follow-up study.

This study reports the results of a longitudinal study of unselected samples of German delinquent children, stratified by frequency of offences recorded before and after the age of criminal responsibility (14 years). A total of 256 young adults (mean age, 22 years), juvenile offenders and control non-offenders, were assessed using the following: a standardized interview regarding family, child development and life history; a multidimensional personality inventory (the Freiburg Personality Inventory, FPI); a version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale; a self-report questionnaire on the delinquency for which the subject was not apprehended during childhood; and a questionnaire concerning parental child-rearing style. The subsequent criminal records of subjects were followed over the next 20 years. It was possible to define three outcome groups (non-offenders, persisters and desisters), which differed in many respects. The outcome was significantly predicted by several variables. Psychosocial risk variables were the most effective predictors, followed by personality variables and childhood delinquency for which the subject had not been apprehended. The distinction between early-onset and late-onset delinquency as a predictor of adult criminality proved valid only if non-apprehended childhood offending was taken into account. The implications of the study for preventive intervention are discussed.

Estimation of a four-parameter item response theory model.

We explore the justification and formulation of a four-parameter item response theory model (4PM) and employ a Bayesian approach to recover successfully parameter estimates for items and respondents. For data generated using a 4PM item response model, overall fit is improved when using the 4PM rather than the 3PM or the 2PM. Furthermore, although estimated trait scores under the various models correlate almost perfectly, inferences at the high and low ends of the trait continuum are compromised, with poorer coverage of the confidence intervals when the wrong model is used. We also show in an empirical example that the 4PM can yield new insights into the properties of a widely used delinquency scale. We discuss the implications for building appropriate measurement models in education and psychology to model more accurately the underlying response process.

[Social perception of the Spanish law for young offenders]. / La valoración social de la ley de responsabilidad penal de los menores.

The implementation of the law 5/2000 for the regulation of Criminal Responsibility for Minors has led to a change in interventions in cases of juvenile offenders. This law promotes the educational and rehabilitative aims of the measures imposed. However, the focus of the media on the most serious cases has generated considerable alarm in society in general. The aim of this study is to determine the social perception of Law 5/2000. For this purpose, a sample of 936 people from the Autonomous Region of the Canary Islands was surveyed. The main results indicate that there is a significant lack of knowledge about the law and that people tend to think that the measures taken are not as effective as studies carried out in connection with this subject have shown. Nevertheless, the people surveyed are more in favour of educational measures than of measures that penalize. These results are discussed in connection with the importance that community factors have in dealing with juvenile delinquency, and in particular, in the power of social pressure to modify legislation, and of the community to assume responsibility for the reinsertion of juvenile offenders.

Achieving Justice for Girls in the Juvenile Justice System.

Female involvement in the juvenile justice system has steadily increased in the United States over the past three decades. During this time, as male arrests have declined, female arrests have increased. Although many social workers have responded to these trends with a national call to identify and address the unique needs of these girls, we lack much high-quality research, including empirically supported interventions or programming to serve the needs of female youths involved in the justice system. This article provides a summary of the extant research that helps document the unique needs of these female youths and national policy efforts and practice considerations for social work practitioners. These needs and policy initiatives offer important opportunities for social workers to conduct research to improve the understanding of this population and also ways in which to provide services that address these youths' complex needs. The article concludes that these female youths-most of whom are not a danger to society-need services instead of involvement in the justice system.

Externalizing Behavior Among Youth With a Current or Formerly Incarcerated Parent.

This study examined associations between parental incarceration and youths' externalizing behaviors (e.g., damage to property, fighting, theft, etc.). Data were drawn from the 2016 Minnesota Student Survey, a statewide sample of 126,868 youth in public schools. Logistic regression analyses examined associations between youths' experience of parental incarceration and their self-reported externalizing behaviors, controlling for key demographic characteristics. Youth with a currently or formerly incarcerated parent reported significantly more externalizing behaviors compared with youth who never had a parent incarcerated. In addition, youth with a currently incarcerated parent reported significantly more externalizing behaviors than youth who had a formerly incarcerated parent in six out of the eight externalizing behaviors. However, youth who reported having a formerly incarcerated parent were more likely to report lying or conning and more likely to have difficulty paying attention than youth who currently had an incarcerated parent. Results illustrate that parental incarceration has important implications for youths' own risk for delinquency and high-risk behavior.

Detention in Juvenile Correctional Facilities Is Associated with Higher Platelet Monoamine Oxidase B Activity in Males.

Juvenile delinquency is related to several biological factors, yet very few vulnerability biomarkers have been identified. Previous data suggest that the enzyme monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) influences several personality traits linked to the propensity to engage in delinquent behavior. Building on this evidence, we assessed whether conduct disorder (CD), juvenile delinquency adjudications, or detention in a correctional facility were associated with either platelet MAO-B activity or the MAOB rs1799836 polymorphism. The study enrolled 289 medication-free male youths, including 182 individuals detained in a correctional facility (with or without a diagnosis of CD). Of the remaining 107 participants, 26 subjects had a diagnosis of CD, and 81 were mentally healthy controls. Platelet MAO-B activity was determined by spectrophotofluorometry, while MAOB rs1799836 was genotyped using qPCR. Platelet MAO-B activity, corrected for age and smoking, was significantly higher in juvenile detainees (p < 0.001), irrespective of CD diagnosis. MAOB rs1799836 was not associated with platelet MAO-B activity or with detention in a correctional facility, CD diagnosis, or delinquent behavior. These data suggest that detention in a juvenile correctional facility increases platelet MAO-B activity in male adolescents. Future studies are needed to determine the mechanisms and functional significance of MAO-B peripheral elevation in juvenile male detainees.

Childhood maltreatment and threats with weapons.

The relationship between childhood maltreatment and future threats with weapons is unknown. We examined data from the nationally representative National Comorbidity Survey Replication (n = 5692) and conducted multiple logistic regression analyses to determine the association between childhood maltreatment and lifetime behavior of threatening others with a gun or other weapon. After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and witnessing domestic violence were significantly associated with threats made with a gun (adjusted odds ratios [AOR] ranging between 3.38 and 4.07) and other weapons (AOR ranging between 2.16 and 2.83). The greater the number of types of maltreatment experienced, the stronger the association with lifetime threats made to others with guns and any weapons. Over 94% of respondents who experienced maltreatment and made threats reported that the maltreatment occurred prior to threatening others with weapons. Prevention efforts that reduce exposure to maltreatment may reduce violent behavior in later life.

Making history for justice reform: Can the country end girls' incarceration?

Nationally, juvenile justice reforms have largely rolled back the surge in youth incarceration that resulted from the "tough on crime" era of the late 1990s and early 2000s: the numbers of young people arrested, detained, and placed in the justice system has fallen by half to the lowest numbers the country has seen since the 1980s. This paper analyzes gender-specific trends in juvenile justice involvement to assess whether declines in juvenile justice-involved youth population have made it possible to eliminate the practice of detaining or placing girls in juvenile justice facilities in many jurisdictions around the country. Descriptive data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics "Arrest Data Analysis Tool" as well as the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's "Easy Access to Juvenile Court Statistics" and "Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement" are compiled to provide an overview of gender demographics and charge severity at arrest and placement over time. Findings indicate that in many states girls numbers are sufficiently small and the severity of their offenses sufficiently low-level that targeted policy changes, diversion efforts, and investment community-based prevention and intervention programing could eliminate confinement altogether.

A Decline in Propensity Toward Risk Behaviors Among U.S. Adolescents.

PURPOSE: Over the past two decades, substance use, delinquent behaviors, and promiscuous sexual activity have declined substantially among U.S. adolescents. We aimed to determine the extent to which these trends represent declines in a general propensity to engage in risk behaviors (i.e., declines in a latent factor). METHODS: We used Youth Risk Behavior Survey data (1999-2017) (n = 147,800) and examined trends in substance use (e.g., alcohol), delinquency (e.g., fighting), and sexual activity (e.g., number of partners). We conducted two types of analyses stratified by grade (9th/10th vs. 11th/12th) and sex: (1) estimation of year-specific prevalence of each behavior and modeled prevalence changes over time and (2) factor analysis and application of alignment methods to determine changes in the mean of the latent factor over time while correcting for measurement noninvariance. RESULTS: A single factor explained 53% (girls 11th/12th grade) to 62% (boys 9th/10th grade) of the variance in risk behaviors. Average relative annual declines in the prevalence of each behavior-except for weapon carrying-ranged from 1% to 6%. The structure of the latent factor was mostly unchanged over time, with notable exceptions related to differential changes in prevalence for cigarette and cannabis use. Between 1999 and 2017, the mean of the latent factor declined by between .54 and .73 standard deviations. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that much of the decline in the prevalence of substance use, delinquent, and sexual behaviors among American youth from 1999 to 2017 reflect an approximately two-thirds standard deviation decline in the mean of a latent risk behavior factor.

Post-traumatic stress disorder and having antisocial peers in adolescence are risk factors for the development of antisocial personality disorder.

Antisocial personality disorder is a mental illness that is a major public health concern. Both post-traumatic stress disorder and association with antisocial peers have been found to be associated with increased risk for diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. Despite this, past research has yet to examine the interrelatedness of these three constructs from a developmental perspective. This study sought to examine the effect of post-traumatic stress disorder in adolescence on the risk for antisocial personality disorder diagnosis in adulthood and the relevance of differences in developmental patterns of degree of association with antisocial peers in adolescence as an additional risk factor. The Pathways to Desistance data were used in analyses, comprising the longitudinal responses of 1,354 juvenile offenders who had recently been adjudicated for a serious offense prior to baseline measurement. Logistic regression was used to examine these relationships. Ever meeting criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder in adolescence significantly increased the odds of developing antisocial personality disorder in adulthood. This effect was no longer significant upon inclusion of variables pertaining to association with antisocial peers. Implications are discussed.

Tackling adolescent substance abuse in Hong Kong: where we should and should not go.

In the 2007 Policy Address, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, P.R.C. expressed the Administration's concern about adolescent substance abuse and proposed to form a high-level interdepartmental task force to tackle the problem in a holistic manner. In this paper, the author presents his observations about adolescent substance abuse in Hong Kong, and outlines the risk factors and related strategies based on the ecological perspective that the Government should consider in order to tackle the problem of adolescent substance abuse in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the directions where the Government should and should not go are discussed.

Prospective Prediction of Juvenile Homicide/Attempted Homicide among Early-Onset Juvenile Offenders.

While homicide perpetrated by juveniles is a relatively rare occurrence, between 2010 and 2014, approximately 7%-8% of all murders involved a juvenile offender. Unfortunately, few studies have prospectively examined the predictors of homicide offending, with none examining first-time murder among a sample of adjudicated male and female youth. The current study employed data on 5908 juvenile offenders (70% male, 45% Black) first arrested at the age of 12 or younger to prospectively examine predictors of an arrest for homicide/attempted homicide by the age of 18. Among these early-onset offenders, males, Black youth, those living in households with family members with a history of mental illness, those engaging in self-mutilation, and those with elevated levels of anger/aggression (all measured by age 13) were more likely to be arrested for homicide/attempted homicide by age 18. These findings add to the scant scientific literature on the predictors of homicide, and illustrate potential avenues for intervention.

Emergency Department and Hospital Use Among Adolescents With Justice System Involvement.

OBJECTIVES: Adolescents with justice system involvement have high rates of physical and behavioral health disorders and are potentially high users of costly health care services. We examined emergency department (ED) and hospital use among a national sample of adolescents with various levels of justice involvement. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis using the 2009 to 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. We included adolescents aged 12 to 17 and used multivariable logistic and negative binomial regression models, adjusting for sociodemographic and health differences, to compare ED and hospital use among adolescents with and without justice involvement. RESULTS: Our sample included 1375 adolescents with past year arrest, 2450 with past year probation or parole, 1324 with past year juvenile detention, and 97 976 without past year justice involvement. In adjusted analyses, adolescents with any justice system involvement, compared to those without, were more likely to have used the ED (38.5%-39.5% vs 31.0%; P < .001) or been hospitalized in the past 12 months (7.1%-8.8% vs 4.8%; P < .01). After adjustment, adolescents with justice involvement also had more ED visits per 100 person-years (77.7-92.9 vs 62.8; P < .01) and hospital nights per 100 person-years (43.3-53.7 vs 18.0; P < .01). Use was highest among adolescents with justice involvement who reported fair or poor health, an illicit drug use disorder, or a mood disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents with justice involvement had substantially higher rates of ED and hospital use. Providing comprehensive support services to adolescents with justice involvement may improve health care use patterns and reduce health care spending.