Poster #74 - Early Onset Behavioral Problem and Juvenile Delinquency: A Mediating Effect of Future Orientation

• In Event: Poster Session I (posters 1 - 79)

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between early onset behavioral problems and juvenile delinquency, with particular attention to future orientation as an underlying explanatory power. Using baseline and wave 1 data of the Pathway to Desistance Study and ordinary least squares regression models, the direct effect of early onset behavioral problem and the indirect pathway operating through future orientation were assessed. The results indicate that early onset behavioral problems are positively associated with subsequent offending and are also significantly related to lower levels of future orientation. In turn, higher future orientation is associated with reduced offending. Importantly, the inclusion of future orientation attenuates the effect of early onset behavioral problems on offending, indicating evidence of partial mediation. By identifying future orientation as a cognitive mechanism linking early behavioral risk to delinquency, among high-risk youth, this study extends developmental and life course perspectives on offending. The results underscore the importance of incorporating future orientation interventions in efforts to reduce delinquency among high-risk youth and contribute to the broader discussion on the timing and mechanisms of behavioral change.

Author

• Nana Adwoa Ahenkan Agyapong, University at Albany, SUNY