More or less likely to offend? Young adults with a history of identified developmental language disorders*

Abstract

BackgroundThere is now substantial literature demonstrating that a disproportionate number of young people who come into contact with youth justice services evidence unidentified language difficulties. These young people, therefore, have received little or no professional input in this area. Conversely, there is a dearth of research pertaining to criminality outcomes among those individuals with identified developmental language disorders (DLD) who have received such interventions.AimsTo examine police‐initiated contact and substance use outcomes of young adults with a history of identified DLD versus age‐matched peers (AMP). Additionally, self‐reported rule breaking behaviours and aggression are considered. We hypothesize that early identification/intervention reduces engagement with risky behaviour such as substance and alcohol use as well as offending‐related behaviours.Methods & ProceduresAdversarial police‐initiated contacts were examined in 84 young adults with a history of DLD and 88 AMP. Rule‐breaking and aggression were evaluated using the Achenbach Adult Self‐Report for ages 18–59 years.Outcomes & ResultsAdults with a history of DLD who received targeted intervention during their school years reported less contact with their local police service compared with AMPs at age 24. Comparable proportions of both groups reported current alcohol consumption, but group differences were found relating to alcohol use. No group differences in rule‐breaking behaviours were found, but the DLD group was found to have a statistically significant higher raw score on the aggressive behaviour scale.Conclusions & ImplicationsThere is a need for early identification of children with DLD. Early intervention aimed at ameliorating such difficulties could possibly have distal outcomes in relation to offending.

Language, literacy and cognitive skills of young adults with developmental language disorder (DLD)

“…It is encouraging that young adults with DLD do not report markedly different reading behaviour from their peers. There have been recent arguments made about the potential beneficial distal effects of early identification and intervention like that received by participants in the MLS (Winstanley et al 2018). The vast majority of adults with DLD does read from internet sources; however, a small minority are never accessing this material.…”

Academic achievement and productivity losses associated with speech, language and communication needs

“…This is consistent with identification strategy employed by Winstanley et al . (2018) (Winstanley et al . 2018) in an age matched study of young adults with a history of identified language disorders.…”

“…A second strand of literature relevant to this study has focused on individuals in youth justice, as these individuals present with very high rates of SLCN and potentially very high costs (Snow 2013, Snow and Powell 2004, Winstanley et al . 2018). A UK study by Winstanley et al .…”

“…A UK study by Winstanley et al . (2018) highlighted the potential impact of an intervention for at risk youth on subsequent contacts with youth justice. The study found that young adults with a history of identified (and treated) developmental language disorders reported less contact with their local police service compared with age matched peers at age 24 years, which they relate to a reduction in negative behaviour around alcohol consumption (Winstanley et al .…”

“…The study found that young adults with a history of identified (and treated) developmental language disorders reported less contact with their local police service compared with age matched peers at age 24 years, which they relate to a reduction in negative behaviour around alcohol consumption (Winstanley et al . 2018). However, there is very limited literature capturing the financial benefits of such interventions.…”