Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Review of Terminological, Conceptual, and Methodological Issues in the Developmental Risk Factor Literature for Antisocial and Delinquent Behavior

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Child & Youth Care Forum Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

The study of risk factors for antisocial and delinquent behavior has flourished in the past 20 years, as great strides have been made in understanding the developmental pathways that give rise to the onset, course, and desistance of the behavior. However, as a body of literature, risk factor research (RFR) is characterized by heterogeneity in definitions, conceptualization, and measurement of key constructs that can make it difficult to discern robust from spurious findings. This may pose challenges to child-serving agencies invested in developing crime reduction policies and programs but lack the resources to carefully comb through and make sense of the literature.

Objective

This article reviews the terminological, conceptual, and methodological issues in the RFR literature with an aim towards clarifying some of the inconsistencies that limit interpretation and application of findings. Risk factors related to antisocial and delinquent behavior are used to illustrate the concepts discussed.

Method

We reviewed the RFR literature pertaining to antisocial and delinquent behavior in children and youth to identify key concepts and discrepancies in this area.

Conclusions

The literature would be well served if researchers were consistent in their use of terminology to describe the effects of risk factors on antisocial and delinquent behavior. There is also a need to study the processes and causal mechanisms that link past events to future outcomes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Excellent articles reviewing the risk factors for antisocial and delinquent behavior in children and youth are available (e.g., Derzon 2010; Farrington 2007; Jaffee et al. 2012).

  2. Although we have not discussed protective and promotive factors at length in this article, we have included definitions of each in Table 1. We felt that, although they are fundamental to understanding the causal pathways to delinquency, such discussion was beyond the scope of the present paper. The interested reader is directed to Lösel and Farrington (2012) and Lösel and Bender (2003) for more information.

  3. Given its purpose, we do not speak to biological sex as a focus point of this paper. However, we believe it is important to note that biological sex is a factor that deserves more attention in the literature. Not only is there debate regarding whether biological sex is a fixed marker or a static risk factor, there has also been insufficient attention paid to female juvenile (and adult) offenders as compared to their male counterparts (Belknap and Holsinger 2006). At this time, we cannot say with confidence whether risk factors for antisocial behavior for males are similar or different than those for females. As a result, this is mentioned briefly in the conclusion section as a limitation of the RFR literature, and examples of research including a focus on biological sex are also included in the paper where applicable.

References

  • Anderson, D. A. (1999). The aggregate burden of crime. Journal of Law and Economics, 42, 611–642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belknap, J., & Holsinger, K. (2006). The gendered nature of risk factors for delinquency. Feminist Criminology, 1, 48–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnette, M. L., Oshri, A., Lax, R., Richards, S., & Ragbeer, S. N. (2012). Pathways from harsh parenting to adolescent antisocial behavior: A multidomain test of gender moderation. Development and Psychopathology, 24, 857–870.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Case, S., & Haines, K. (2009). Understanding youth offending: Risk factors, policy, and practice. Portland, OR: Willan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., McClay, J., Moffitt, T. E., Mill, J., Martin, M., Craig, I. W., et al. (2002). Role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children. Science, 297, 851–854.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cauffman, E. (2008). Understanding the female offender. The Future of Children, 18, 119–142.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Charlebois, P., LeBlanc, M., Gagnon, C., & Larivee, S. (1994). Methodological issues in multiple-gating screening procedures for antisocial behaviors in elementary students. Remedial and Special Education, 15, 44–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (1996). Equifinality and multifinality in developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 8, 597–600.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the social sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, M. A., & Piquero, A. R. (2009). New evidence on the monetary value of saving a high risk youth. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 25, 25–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, D., & Stewart, L. M. (2010). Prevalence and impact of childhood maltreatment in incarcerated youth. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80, 343–349.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group. (2011). The effects of the Fast Track prevention intervention on the development of conduct disorder across childhood. Child Development, 82, 331–345.

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Day, D. M., Hart, T. A., Wanklyn, S. G., McCay, E., Macpherson, A., & Burnier, N. (2013). Potential mediators between child abuse and both violence and victimization in juvenile offenders. Psychological Services, 10, 1–11.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Derzon, J. H. (2007). Using correlational evidence to select youth for prevention programming. Journal of Primary Prevention, 28, 421–447.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Derzon, J. H. (2010). The correspondence of family feature with problem, aggressive, criminal, and violent behavior: A meta-analysis. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 6, 263–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dishion, T. J., & Piehler, T. F. (2007). Peer dynamics in the development and change of child and adolescent problem behavior. In A. S. Masten (Ed.), Multilevel dynamics in developmental psychopathology: Pathways to the future. Minnesota symposia on child psychology (pp. 151–180). NY: Taylor & Francis/Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dishion, T. J., Véronneau, M. H., & Myers, M. W. (2010). Cascading peer dynamics underlying the progression from problem behavior to violence in early to late adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 22, 603–619.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A. (2011). Context matters in child and family policy. Child Development, 82, 433–442.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A., Malone, P. S., Lansford, J. E., Miller, S., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (2009). A dynamic cascade model of the development of substance-use onset. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 74, Serial No. 294.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edens, J. F., Campbell, J. S., & Weir, J. M. (2007). Youth psychopathy and criminal recidivism: A meta-analysis of the psychopathy checklist measures. Law and Human Behavior, 31, 53–75.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P. (2003). Key results from the first forty years of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. In T. P. Thornberry & M. D. Krohn (Eds.), Taking stock of delinquency: An overview of findings from contemporary longitudinal studies (pp. 137–174). NY: Kluwer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P. (2007). Childhood risk factors and risk-focused prevention. In M. Maguire, R. Morgan, & R. Reiner (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of criminology (pp. 602–640). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., & Loeber, R. (2000). Some benefits of dichotomization in psychiatric and criminological research. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 10, 100–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., & Welsh, B. C. (2007). Saving children from a life of crime. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., & West, D. J. (1990). The Cambridge study in delinquent development: A long-term follow-up of 411 London males. In H. J. Kerner & G. Kaiser (Eds.), Criminality: Personality, behavior, life history (pp. 115–138). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J., & Nagin, D. S. (2000). Offending trajectories in a New Zealand sample. Criminology, 38, 525–551.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frick, P. J., Lahey, B. B., Loeber, R., Tannenbaum, L., Van Horn, Y., Christ, M. A. G., et al. (1993). Oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder: A meta-analytic review of factor analyses and cross-validation in a clinical sample. Clinical Psychology Review, 13, 319–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furlong, M. J., Bates, M. P., & Smith, D. C. (2001). Predicting school weapon possession: A secondary analysis of the youth risk behavior surveillance survey. Psychology in the School, 38, 127–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garmezy, N. (1983). Stressors of childhood. In N. Garmezy & M. Rutter (Eds.), Stress, coping and development in children (pp. 43–84). Minneapolis, MN: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenwood, P. (2008). Prevention and intervention programs for juvenile offenders. The Future of Children, 18, 185–210.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Herrenkohl, T. I., Maguin, E., Hill, K. G., Hawkins, J. D., Abbott, R. D., & Catalano, R. F. (2000). Developmental risk factors for youth violence. Journal of Adolescent Health, 26, 176–186.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jaffee, S. R., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., Polo-Tomas, M., Price, T. S., & Taylor, A. (2004). The limits of child effects: Evidence for genetically mediated child effects on corporal punishment but not on physical maltreatment. Developmental Psychology, 40, 1047–1058.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jaffee, S. R., Strait, L. B., & Odgers, C. L. (2012). From correlates to causes: Can quasi-experimental studies and statistical innovations bring us closer to identifying the causes of antisocial behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 138, 272–295.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kazdin, A. E., Kraemer, H. C., Kessler, R. C., Kupfer, D. J., & Offord, D. R. (1997). Contributions of risk-factor research to developmental psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Review, 17, 375–406.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kosterman, R., Graham, J. W., Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., & Herrenkohl, T. I. (2001). Childhood risk factors for persistence of violence in the transition to adulthood: A social development perspective. Violence and Victims, 16, 355–369.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kraemer, H. C., Kazdin, A. E., Offord, D. R., Kessler, R. C., Jensen, P. S., & Kupfer, D. J. (1997). Coming to terms with the terms of risk. Archives of General Psychiatry, 54, 337–343.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kraemer, H. C., Lowe, K. K., & Kupfer, D. J. (2005). To your health: How to understand what research tells us about risk. NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Latimer, J., Kleinknecht, S., Hung, K., & Gabor, T. (2003). The correlates of self-reported delinquency: An analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Ottawa, Ontario: Department of Justice Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leschied, A., Chiodo, D., Nowicki, E., & Rodger, R. (2008). Childhood predictors of adult criminality: A meta-analysis drawn from the prospective longitudinal literature. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 50, 435–467.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lipsey, M. W., & Derzon, J. H. (1998). Predictors of violent or serious delinquency in adolescence and early adulthood. In R. Loeber & D. P. Farrington (Eds.), Serious and violent juvenile offenders: Risk factors and successful intervention (pp. 86–105). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Livingston, M., Stewart, A., Allard, T., & Ogilvie, J. (2008). Understanding juvenile offending trajectories. The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 41, 345–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loeber, R., & Farrington, D. P. (2000). Young children who commit crime: Epidemiology, developmental origins, risk factors, early interventions, and policy implications. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 737–762.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Loeber, R., Farrington, D. P., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & Van Kammen, W. B. (1998). Antisocial behavior and mental health problems: Explanatory factors in childhood and adolescence. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loeber, R., & Hay, D. (1997). Key issues in the development of aggression and violence from childhood to early adulthood. Annual Review of Psychology, 14, 497–523.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lösel, F. (2002). Risk/need assessment and prevention of antisocial development in young people: Basic issues from a perspective of cautionary optimism. In R. Corrado, R. Roesch, S. D. Hart, & J. K. Gierowski (Eds.), Multi-problem violence youth (pp. 35–57). Amsterdam: Kluwer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lösel, F., & Bender, D. (2003). Protective factors and resilience. In D. P. Farrington & J. W. Coid (Eds.), Early prevention and adult antisocial behaviour (pp. 130–204). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lösel, F., & Farrington, D. P. (2012). Direct protective and buffering protective factors in the development of youth violence. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 43, S8–S23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lussier, P., Healey, J., Tzoumakis, S., Deslauriers-Varin, N., & Corrado, R. (2010). The CRACOW instrument: A new framework for the assessment of multi-problem violent youth. Unpublished report.

  • Maldonado-Molina, M., Piquero, A. R., Jennings, W. G., Bird, H., & Canino, G. (2009). Trajectories of delinquency among Puerto Rican children and adolescents at two sites. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 46, 144–181.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, J. (2006). Juvenile offending trajectories: A South Australian study. Adelaide: South Australia Department of Justice, Office of Crime Statistics and Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A. S. (2006). Developmental psychopathology: Pathways to the future. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 30, 47–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A. S., & Cicchetti, D. (2010). Developmental cascades. Development and Psychopathology, 22, 491–495.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McMillan, D., Hastings, R. P., Salter, D. C., & Skuse, D. H. (2008). Developmental risk factor research and sexual offending against children: A review of some methodological issues. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38, 877–890.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Life-course persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674–701.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mrazek, P. J., & Haggerty, R. J. (Eds.). (1994). Reducing risks for mental disorders: Frontiers for preventative intervention research. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulvey, E. P., Steinberg, L., Fagan, J., Cauffman, E., Piquoer, A. R., Chassin, L., et al. (2004). Theory and research on desistance from antisocial activity among serious juvenile offenders. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 2, 213–236.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nagin, D. S., Farrington, D. P., & Moffitt, T. E. (1995). Life-course trajectories of different types of offenders. Criminology, 33, 111–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Dougherty Wright, M., & Masten, A. S. (2005). Resilience processes in development. In S. Goldstein & R. B. Brooks (Eds.), Handbook of resilience in children (pp. 17–37). NY: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Offord, D. R. (1987). Prevention of behavioral and emotional disorders in children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 28, 9–19.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Osofsky, J. D., & Lieberman, A. F. (2011). A call for integrating a mental health perspective into systems of care for abused and neglected infants and young children. American Psychologist, 66, 120–128.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, G. R., DeBaryshe, B. D., & Ramsay, E. (1989). A developmental perspective on antisocial behavior. American Psychologist, 44, 329–335.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, G. R., & Yoerger, K. (1993). Developmental models for delinquent behavior. In S. Hodgins (Ed.), Mental disorder and crime (pp. 140–172). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piquero, A. R., Farrington, D. P., Welsh, B. C., Tremblay, R., & Jennings, W. G. (2009). Effects of early family/parent training programs on antisocial behavior and delinquency. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 5, 83–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rae-Grant, N., Thomas, H., Offord, D. R., & Boyle, M. H. (1989). Risk, protective factors, and the prevalence of behavioral and emotional disorders in children and adolescents. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 28, 262–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raine, A. (1993). The psychopathology of crime: Criminal behavior as a clinical disorder. San Diego, CA: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raine, A. (2002). The role of prefrontal deficits, low autonomic arousal, and early health factors in the development of antisocial and aggressive behavior in children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43, 417–434.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (2007). Proceeding from observed correlation to causal inference: The use of natural experiments. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2, 377–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. J. (2001). Foreword. In A. Piquero & P. Mazerolle (Eds.), Life course criminology: Contemporary and classic readings (pp. v–vii). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shonkoff, J. P., & Bales, S. N. (2011). Science does not speak for itself. Translating child development research for the public and its policymakers. Child Development, 82, 17–32.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shulman, E. P., Steinberg, L. D., & Piquero, A. R. (2013). The age-crime curve in adolescence and early adulthood is not due to age differences in economic status. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42, 848–860.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stouthamer-Loeber, M., Loeber, R., Wei, E., Farrington, D. P., & Wilkström, P. H. (2002). Risk and promotive effects in the explanation of persistent serious delinquency in boys. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 111–123.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sweeten, G., Piquero, A. R., & Steinberg, L. (2013). Ager and the explanation of crime, revisited. Journal of Youth and Adolescence,. doi:10.1007/s10964-013-9926-4.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tackett, J. L. (2010). Toward an externalizing spectrum in DSM-IV: Incorporating developmental concerns. Child Development Perspective, 4, 161–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanner-Smith, E. I., Wilson, S. J., & Lipsey, M. W. (2013). Risk factors and crime. In F. T. Cullen & P. Wilcox (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of criminological theory (pp. 88–111). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Domburgh, L., Loeber, R., Bezemer, D., Stallings, R., & Magda Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (2009). Childhood predictors of desistance and level of persistence in offending in early onset offenders. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 37, 967–980.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, A. K., Day, D. M., Bevc, I., Sun, Y., Rosenthal, J. S., & Duchesne, T. (2010). Criminal trajectories and risk factors in a Canadian sample of offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 37, 1278–1300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yessine, A. K., & Bonta, J. (2009). The offending trajectories of youthful Aboriginal offenders. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 51, 435–472.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, T. (2011). Costs of crime in Canada, 2008. Ottawa, Canada: Department of Justice. Retrieved on June 16, 2012 from http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/rs/rep-rap/2011/rr10_5/rr10_5.pdf.

Download references

Acknowledgments

Financial support for this work was provided to the first author by the National Crime Prevention Centre (NCPC), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada

    David M. Day & Sonya G. Wanklyn

  2. National Crime Prevention Centre, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0P8, Canada

    Annie K. Yessine

Authors
  1. David M. Day
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sonya G. Wanklyn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Annie K. Yessine
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David M. Day.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Day, D.M., Wanklyn, S.G. & Yessine, A.K. A Review of Terminological, Conceptual, and Methodological Issues in the Developmental Risk Factor Literature for Antisocial and Delinquent Behavior. Child Youth Care Forum 43, 97–112 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-013-9227-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-013-9227-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation