Loss and Grief among Persistently Delinquent Youth: The Contribution of Adversity Indicators and Psychopathy-Spectrum Traits to Broadband Internalizing and Externalizing Psychopathology

Abstract

Despite profound adversity exposure (loss, trauma) among delinquents, with adversity linked to early-onset persistent delinquency [EOPD], externalizing syndromes (Conduct Disorder) continue to overshadow impairing internalizing syndromes. Three understudied factors potentially contribute to both syndromes among delinquents: bereavement-related distress [BRD] from death-exposures; psychopathy-spectrum traits associated with system-involvement; and emotional abuse, implicated in lifespan morbidities. Therefore, we characterized loss/BRD among 107 EOPD adolescent girls and boys, comparing: 1) psychopathology and maltreatment (emotional, physical and sexual abuse); and 2) adversity-related (BRD, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD], maltreatment) and psychopathy-spectrum predictors of internalizing and externalizing syndromes. Death exposure was common, resulting in developmental disruptions (school difficulties: 49.4%) and clinically significant BRD (33.8%), with girls evidencing greater BRD severity. BRD and psychopathy-traits, not PTSD, positively predicted all youths’ internalizing, and boys’ externalizing, syndromes. More frequent physical abuse increased both syndromes among boys. Emotional abuse alone predicted girls’ externalizing syndromes, highlighting the contribution of this overlooked maltreatment-type.

Trauma, Psychopathy, and Antisocial Outcomes Among Community Youth: Distinguishing Trauma Events From Trauma Reactions

“…In contrast, other studies reported associations between physical abuse and psychopathic features (Sevecke et al, 2016), but not for sexual abuse, and still others reported that sexual, physical, or emotional abuse were associated with psychopathy depending on model specification (Lansing et al, 2018). There is also evidence that trauma experiences, such as witnessing violence, have differential associations on subcomponents of psychopathic personality including grandiosity, manipulation, callousness, irresponsibility, and impulsivity (Ray, 2018).…”

“…Second, there is evidence that trauma and psychopathy have concurrent and divergent linkages to offending outcomes among both institutionalized and community samples of youth. Specifically, there is evidence that psychopathy and trauma experiences are associated with delinquency (DeLisi et al, 2018; Lansing et al, 2018; Tsang, 2018; Vaughn et al, 2009), as well as evidence that trauma, but not psychopathy, is associated with violence (DeLisi et al, 2018). Moreover, depending on sample composition and measures, trauma and psychopathy exhibit inconsistent and at times multifaceted associations with behavioral problems.…”

“…A third and related point is that gender, race, and ethnicity moderate the interrelationships between trauma, psychopathy, and conduct problems. Some studies found that trauma increases psychopathy among boys but not girls (Barker & Meehan, 2019; Krischer & Sevecke, 2008; Lansing et al, 2018; Sevecke et al, 2016); while other research found that trauma exposures manifest in different types of delinquency among white, black, or Hispanic youth in the United States (Bonner et al, 2020; DeLisi et al, 2017; Zettler, et al, 2018). This suggests that criminogenic effects of trauma exposure are unevenly felt across demographic statuses, and that individual forms of trauma can result in generalized greater likelihood of delinquency or reflect a more specialized relation between a trauma and offending, as in the case of sexual abuse and sexual offending (Bonner et al, 2020; Miley et al, 2020).…”

“It Changed My Life”: Traumatic Loss, Behavioral Health, and Turning Points Among Gang-Involved and Justice-Involved Youth

“…In a sample of gang-involved youth, Kerig et al (2016) found that ganginvolved youth were more likely to meet the criteria for a full or partial diagnosis of PTSD than their non-gang-involved counterparts, and girls were more likely than boys to meet the criteria for a full or partial diagnosis in both populations as well. Lansing, Plante, Beck, and Ellenberg (2018) found that in a sample of persistently delinquent youth, exposure to death was common and resulted in clinically significant bereavement-related distress and developmental disruptions. In addition, 72% of youth had reported experiencing a meaningful or important loss in the past 6 months, of which 33.8% stated that they joined or became more involved in a gang as a result of the death (Lansing et al, 2018).…”

“…Lansing, Plante, Beck, and Ellenberg (2018) found that in a sample of persistently delinquent youth, exposure to death was common and resulted in clinically significant bereavement-related distress and developmental disruptions. In addition, 72% of youth had reported experiencing a meaningful or important loss in the past 6 months, of which 33.8% stated that they joined or became more involved in a gang as a result of the death (Lansing et al, 2018).…”