Dispositional Factors Distinguish Latent Classes of Delinquency and Substance Use: The Moderating Role of Neighborhood Context

• In Event: Biosocial Criminology: The Effects of Neighborhoods and Environmental Toxins

Abstract

Impulse control (IC) and Callous-Unemotional (CU) traits are established risk factors for antisocial behavior. However, little research exists examining how these two dispositional factors operate within the context of neighborhood in predicting antisocial behavior. To address this gap in the literature the current study examined if neighborhood conditions moderated the association between IC and CU traits and delinquency and substance use among a sample (n=1216) of first-time juvenile offenders participating in the Crossroads study. Two latent class analyses were conducted for self-reported delinquency and substance use. Three classes were identified for each outcome (substance use: non-users, minor users, serious users; delinquency: fighters-only; minor offenders, serious offenders). Multinomial logistic regression models were conducted predicting class membership for each outcome. Main effects were identified for both dispositional factors, with IC (negative) and CU traits (positively) being associated with membership in the serious classes for both outcomes. For substance use there were significant interactions with neighborhood for both dispositions, with the effects of IC and CU traits being stronger in more disorganized neighborhoods. However, only CU traits interacted with neighborhood when distinguishing classes of delinquency, with CU traits more strongly associated with serious delinquency in more disorganized neighborhoods. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Authors

• James Vance Ray, University of Texas at San Antonio

• Paul Frick, University of New Orleans

• Laura Catherine Thornton, University of New Orleans

• Elizabeth Cauffman, University of California, Irvine

• Laurence Steinberg, Temple University