An Ontogenic Processes Model of Externalizing Psychopathology

Trait Impulsivity/Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder A Genetic Liability for Criminality

“…First, multiple studies have found that "males who develop Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) usually traverse a developmental trajectory that begins in preschool with ADHD, followed by ODD, childhood-onset CD, SUDs, and incarceration and recidivism. This developmental pathway may account for most individuals who engage in lifelong delinquent behavior" [9]. Second, this finding receives impressive support from the research that strongly links impairments in self-control --which can be broadly defined as the ability to flexibly control/ regulate attention, behavior, and emotion in the service of valued goals and standards --to juvenile and adult criminal behavior [15,16].…”

“…First, by way of prologue, factor analyses of the externalizing spectrum disorders have yielded a single higher-order factor that account for much of the covariation among first order factors such as ADHD, ODD, CD and subsequent juvenile delinquency and adult criminality [7,8,9,10 ]. Second, extensive research strongly indicates that this single higher order factor is trait impulsivity (behavioral and emotional) and that this factor is virtually equivalent to ADHD.…”

“…ODD, which occurs on average in 65% of juveniles with ADHD and in as many as 84% of clinic-referred cases, is the most common comorbid condition of ADHD in juveniles [19,24]. This progression from ADHD to ODD is best explained by the ADHD symptoms of behavioral and emotional impulsivity which greatly increase the risk for coercive, oppositional interchanges with significant others in the child's life [9,19,25]. Indeed, it is estimated that a typical child with ADHD has an astonishing half a million of these negative interchanges each year [26].…”

“…In addition, although the majority of children with ODD do not go on to develop CD [33], if childhoodonset CD develops, it is almost always preceded developmentally by ODD [34]. The progression from ODD to CD is most likely to occur when environmental risk factors such as maltreatment, neglect, hostile parenting, neighborhood violence and other forms of adversity increases rather than decreases the deviance proneness of ADHD/ODD [9,32,35].…”

Beauchaine ontogenic process model of externalizing psychopathology a biosocial theory of crime and delinquency

“…Although criminologists have only recently begun to appreciate the role biological vulnerabilities play in the development of criminal behavior (Beaver, Barnes, & Boutwell, 2015;DeLisi & Vaughn, 2015), the field of developmental psychopathology has long recognized their importance in the development of various forms of psychopathology, including antisocial behavior (see . Therefore, criminology has "much to learn from the developmental psychopathology literature which traces the temperamental and developmental factors that give rise to conduct problems early in life" (DeLisi & Piquero, 2011, p. 295).This belated recognition of the importance of biological vulnerabilities by criminologists may help explain why even the state of the art Routledge handbook on biosocial criminology (DeLisi & Vaughn, 2015) neglected to discuss what is arguably the dominant biosocial theory in developmental psychopathology relevant to crime and delinquencythe Beauchaine Ontogenic Process Model of externalizing psychopathology (Beauchaine & McNulty, 2013;Beauchaine, Shader, & Hinshaw, 2015). The purpose of this article is to present an adaptation of this model to crime and delinquency with implications for prevention.…”