Exploring Developmental Pathways From Early Toddlerhood to Adolescent Violent Crime and Psychopathology.

• In Event: 3-088 - Infant Predictors of Social and Behavioral Impairments in Childhood and Adolescence

Integrative Statement

With 14% of reported violent crime in the United States committed by juveniles (U.S.
Department of Justice, 2010), youth engagement in violent behavior continues to be of great
concern to society. By identifying developmental pathways of adolescent violent crime, it may
be possible to design prevention programs that target youth most at-risk (Shaw & Bell, 1993) and
ultimately reduce rates of violent behavior. Most previous research has identified proximal and
distal risk factors during middle childhood and early adolescence associated with violent
behavior during late adolescence including: disruptive behavior, deviant peer affiliations, reward
anticipation, and low socioeconomic status (Caspi, Moffit, & Silva, 1996; Shulman et al., 2017).
However, very few studies have traced precursors of adolescent violent behavior to risk factors
assessed in early childhood (Sitnick et al., 2017). The current study sought to expand upon this
initial foray (Sitnick et al., 2017) by examining early childhood predictors of adolescent violent
behavior and potential mediators during early adolescence. In addition, to test for specificity of
outcomes, we tested whether the same early childhood predictors (e.g., maternal depression,
nonsupportive parenting, disruptive behavior, minority status) were also predictive of adolescent
depression and anxiety, including tests for early adolescent mediators (e.g., deviant peer
affiliation, sensation seeking, disruptive behavior, involved parenting) of such direct
associations. The current study utilizes a sample (n = 310) of low-income males and their
caregivers followed longitudinally from 18 months of age through age 20 years. Early childhood
variables include maternal-reported depression at child age 18 and 24 months (Beck et al., 1988),
maternal-reported child oppositional behavior at 18 months ( Larzelere et al., 1989 ), and
observations of parenting and the home environment at 24 months (Caldwell & Bradley, 1994).
Boys’ deviant peer affiliation (target-report), externalizing problems (parent-report; Achenbach,
1991), sensation seeking (target- and parent-report; Lahey et al., 2008), and parent involvement
(target- and parent-report; Dishion et al., 1991), at 12 years were tested as potential mediators of
early childhood predictors of adolescent violent behavior, based on youth reports of violent
behavior at 15, 17, and 20 years (Elliot et al., 1985). Preliminary analyses utilizing structurally
equation modeling (Figure 1) indicate that even after controlling for concurrent nonviolent
deviant behavior, and minority and socioeconomic status, deviant peer affiliation at 12
significantly mediated the relationships between mother’s depression and parenting during early
childhood and adolescent self-report of violent behavior such that mother’s depression (β = .05,
p = .039) and parenting (β = -.07, p = .02) in early childhood were associated with deviant peer
affiliation during middle childhood, which was associated with both violent and nonviolent
deviant behaviors during late adolescence. Similar pathways for anxiety and depression in
adolescence will be explored in subsequent analyses. Implications for treatment and prevention
will be discussed.

Authors

• Stephanie Lynn Sitnick, Caldwell University
  Presenting Author

• Daniel S. Shaw, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author