Males on the life-course-persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial pathways: follow-up at age 26 years.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
This article reports a comparison on outcomes of 26-year-old males who were defined several years ago in the Dunedin longitudinal study as exhibiting childhood-onset versus adolescent-onset antisocial behavior and who were indistinguishable on delinquent offending in adolescence. Previous studies of these groups in childhood and adolescence showed that childhood-onset delinquents had inadequate parenting, neurocognitive problems, undercontrolled temperament, severe hyperactivity, psychopathic personality traits, and violent behavior. Adolescent-onset delinquents were not distinguished by these features. Here followed to age 26 years, the childhood-onset delinquents were the most elevated on psychopathic personality traits, mental-health problems, substance dependence, numbers of children, financial problems, work problems, and drug-related and violent crime, including violence against women and children. The adolescent-onset delinquents at 26 years were less extreme but elevated on impulsive personality traits, mental-health problems, substance dependence, financial problems, and property offenses. A third group of men who had been aggressive as children but not very delinquent as adolescents emerged as low-level chronic offenders who were anxious, depressed, socially isolated, and had financial and work problems. These findings support the theory of life-course-persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial behavior but also extend it. Findings recommend intervention with all aggressive children and with all delinquent adolescents, to prevent a variety of maladjustments in adult life.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Moffitt, TE; Caspi, A; Harrington, H; Milne, BJ
Published Date
- January 2002
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 14 / 1
Start / End Page
- 179 - 207
PubMed ID
- 11893092
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1469-2198
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0954-5794
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1017/s0954579402001104
Language
- eng