Constellations of youth criminogenic factors associated with young adult violent criminal behavior

Abstract

This study identified constellations of childhood risk factors associated with violent criminal behavior in early adulthood. Police data were used to sample violent and nonviolent offenders from a population of young adult males with a history of juvenile probation. Risk factors were retrieved from their juvenile probation files. A single classification tree analysis organized these into a decision tree for violent criminal behavior with good predictive accuracy. Two constellations of risk factors were associated with a high risk of violent criminal behavior. The first consisted of juvenile delinquents who had been moderately involved with criminal peers, who had committed offenses under the influence of drugs, and who came from a dysfunctional family. The second was characterized by having been severely involved with criminal peers and having had criminal family members. Presenting with depressive symptoms in childhood was associated with a low risk of violent criminal behavior. These constellations bear clinical importance as they provide targets for personalized interventions.

Understanding factors predicting violent recidivism

“…Specifically, the current study suggested that younger inmates were associated with higher probability of reoffending and reimprisonment for a subsequent violent-related offence. This result was supported by literature that has found that a large majority of violent crimes were made up of young adult offenders (Segeren, Fassaert, de Wit & Popma, 2020). An analysis on the development of violent offending found violent offending to peak at adolescence and gradually declined in adulthood (Hein, Barbot, Square, Chapman, Geib & Grigorenko, 2017).…”

Building Blocks of Resilience: Applications for Justice Involved Youth

“…Thus, these same attributes can be applied to at-risk youth to help them progress and cope with adversities positively. The term at-risk has been characterized as those facing environmental and social risk factors such as exposure to violence, lack of community resources, and dysfunctional social relationships, which can lead to maladaptive behavior and delinquent acts (Caruso, 2017;Segeren et al, 2020). Resilience theory supports the notion that at-risk and vulnerable youth can learn to manage those adversities and negative situations.…”

Factors of Prison Recidivism in Women: A Socioeducational and Sustainable Development Analysis

“…Other studies, such as those performed by Segeren, Fassaert, De Wit, and Popma [77], Scott and Brown [78], and Graña, Andreu, and Silva [21], consider this situation as one of the main risk factors of recidivism and of criminal behavior in general. 11.…”