Pathways and predictors of antisocial behaviors in African American adolescents from poor neighborhoods

Abstract

Antisocial behavior among youth remains a serious personal and social problem in the United States. The purposes of this study were to (1) identify the shape and number of developmental trajectories of antisocial behavior in a sample of poor, inner-city African American youth, and (2) test predictors of group membership and the developmental course of antisocial behaviors. Using growth mixture modeling, we examined predictors of antisocial behavior pathways and the likelihood of arrest in a sample of 566 poor, urban African American adolescents (ages 11 to 16). Three distinct trajectory classes of antisocial behavior were identified over a period of six years: one low-risk group (low steady) and two high-risk groups (incremental and high starter). The conditional probabilities for being arrested during ages 14-16 were 0.18 for the low steady class, 0.68 for the incremental class, and 0.31 for high starter class. Prevention strategies for adolescents at high risk are discussed. Keywordsantisocial behavior; violence; African American adolescents; pathways; poverty; longitudinal analysis Antisocial behavior, often interchangeably used with delinquency, violent behavior, conduct problem, and deviant behavior, is one of the most serious behavioral problems in the United States and incurs costs to individuals, families, and the society as a whole. Antisocial behavior is defined in this paper as behavior that violates social norms or the rights of fellow human beings. Because of its significance, a number of efforts exists to understand how antisocial behavior develops over the life course and to comprehend the predictors and consequences (e.g., Schaeffer, Petras, Ialongo, Poduska, & Kellam, 2003). Although a general tendency of decreasing rates of antisocial behavior is reported as youth reach adulthood, research also © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.a Corresponding author School of Social Work, University of South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Ave. MGY 132, Tampa,; nanpark@bcs.usf.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptChild Youth Serv Rev. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 March 1. Published in final edited form as:Child Youth Serv Rev. indicates a strong link between childhood antisocial behavior and subsequent chronic offenses during adulthood (Bongers, Koot, van der Ende, & Verhulst, 2008;Huesmann, Eron, & Dubow, 2002). In particular, minority youth in urban, poor neighborhoods have high risks of being exposed early to violence and of developing antisocial behavior (Spano, Rivera, & Bolland, 2006;Tolan, Go...

Factors that Influence Trajectories of Delinquency Throughout Adolescence

“…Although there are a few notable exceptions (Park et al 2008(Park et al , 2010, most of the research on trajectories of offending has focused on Caucasian samples. Research using minority samples find between three and five trajectory groups, depending upon the sample used.…”

“…Research using minority samples find between three and five trajectory groups, depending upon the sample used. Specifically, Park et al (2008Park et al ( , 2010 have conducted two studies identifying trajectory groups with Growth Mixture Modeling and using the Mobile Youth Survey, an inner-city African American population. They found the presence of three distinct groups of offenders, including a ''steady'' (but low-level) group displaying little delinquency, an ''incremental'' group showing a stable increase in delinquency over time, and a ''high starter'' group that begin with a high level of delinquency but declined over time (Park et al 2008).…”

Trajetória de Adolescentes em Conflito com a Lei Após Cumprimento de Medida Socioeducativa em Meio Fechado

“…Outros estudos que investigaram trajetórias de jovens infratores encontraram associação entre o uso de drogas e o comportamento delitivo (Mason & Windle, 2002;Nijhof et al, 2011;Park et al, 2010). No Brasil, Pereira e Sudbrack (2008), assim como Zappe e Dias (2012), também apontam várias conexões entre os níveis de dependência relacional das drogas (efeitos, crenças, relações afetivas, pares, provedores, fornecedores) e a prática de infrações.…”

“…O segundo grupo apresentou chance dez vezes maior de ser preso quando comparado ao grupo 1, além de constituir-se no grupo com maior risco para o envolvimento em consumo de álcool e outras drogas. De acordo com os autores, embora seja difícil avaliar a sequência entre uso de substâncias e comportamento antissocial, é provável que o envolvimento com drogas afete a trajetória de comportamento antissocial (Park, Lee, Sun, Vazsonyi, & Bolland, 2010). O estudo de Nijhof et al (2011) também revelou a existência de três grupos de jovens com comportamento antissocial: grupos com escores baixos, moderados e altos no instrumento Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI), sendo que os dois últimos apresentaram escores elevados para o uso de drogas.…”

“…A exposição a essas situações intensificaria emoções negativas como raiva e frustração, criando constante tensão sobre o indivíduo. De acordo com essa teoria, as falhas são atribuídas principalmente ao indivíduo (Agnew, 2001), desenvolvendo pobre autoconceito e desesperança, características fortemente associadas ao comportamento antissocial nos adolescentes (Park et al, 2010). Iselin et al (2012) discorrem a respeito dessa teoria relacionando-a com a desistência do comportamento antissocial.…”