Childhood Behaviour Problems (childhood + behaviour_problem)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


A longitudinal study of cannabis use and mental health from adolescence to early adulthood

ADDICTION, Issue 4 2000
Rob McGee
Aims. To examine the longitudinal association between cannabis use and mental health. Design. Information concerning cannabis use and mental health from 15 to 21 years was available for a large sample of individuals as part of a longitudinal study from childhood to adulthood. Participants. Participants were enrolled in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a research programme on the health, development and behaviour of a large group of New Zealanders born between 1 April 1972 and 31 March 1973. Measurements. Cannabis use and identification of mental disorder was based upon self-report as part of a general assessment of mental health using a standard diagnostic interview. Daily smoking and alcohol use at age 15 were assessed by self-report. Indices of family socio-economic status, family climate and parent - child interaction were formed using information gathered from parent report and behavioural observations over early childhood. Childhood behaviour problems were assessed by parent and teacher report. Attachment to parents was assessed in adolescence. Findings. Cross-sectional associations between cannabis use and mental disorder were significant at all three ages. Both outcome variables shared similar pathways of low socio-economic status and history of behaviour problems in childhood, and low parental attachment in adolescence. Mental disorder at age 15 led to a small but significantly elevated risk of cannabis use at age 18; by contrast, cannabis use at age 18 elevated the risk of mental disorder at age 21. The latter association reflected the extent to which cannabis dependence and other externalizing disorders at age 21 were predicted by earlier level of involvement with cannabis. Conclusions. The findings suggest that the primary causal direction leads from mental disorder to cannabis use among adolescents and the reverse in early adulthood. Both alcohol use and cigarette smoking had independent associations with later mental health disorder. [source]


Behaviour problems in childhood and adolescence in psychotic offenders: an exploratory study

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2008
Kris Goethals
Background,Several studies have shown that adults who develop schizophrenia and commit a criminal offence may already have shown behaviour problems in childhood or adolescence. It is less clear whether such problems follow a particular pattern in such patients. Aims,To examine the utility of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) among offenders, to test whether externalizing behaviour problems, as measured by the CBCL, are more frequent in psychotic offenders than in non-offenders with psychosis, and to investigate relationships between early behavioural problems and adult personality disorder in psychotic offenders. Methods,Three groups of violent offenders detained under the Dutch Entrustment Act (TBS-detainees)(n = 78) and one group of psychotic patients in general psychiatry (n = 16) were rated from case records on the CBCL. Results,There was a significant difference between psychotic offenders with a personality disorder (n = 25) and the non-offender patients with psychosis (n = 16) on the ,delinquent behavior' scale, but no such difference between psychotic offenders with (n = 25) and without (n = 21) personality disorder. A hierarchic cluster analysis revealed significantly higher scores for externalizing behaviour in all TBS-detainees with a personality disorder. Those starting to offend early had higher scores for externalizing behaviour than late starters. Conclusions,Psychotic and non-psychotic offenders with personality disorder resemble one another in their early childhood behaviour problems; psychotic offenders without a personality disorder differ from these two groups but resemble non-offenders with psychosis. In contrast to findings in non-forensic populations, there were no differences on other problem scales of the CBCL. Given the small sample sizes, replication is needed, but the findings lend weight to treatment models which focus on the psychosis in the latter two groups but extend also to personality disorder in the former. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Precursors and correlates of criminal behaviour in women

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2004
Dr Julie Messer
Background The precursors and correlates of criminal behaviour in women were examined in this longitudinal study of women in their late thirties. Methods The sample consisted of a high-risk group of women (n = 86) and a comparison group ( n = 97): the former had been raised in institutional care. Questionnaire measures of childhood behaviour problems and detailed interview data from two time points in adulthood were obtained, along with official records of offending. Results In terms of childhood precursors, antisocial behaviour, institutional rearing, hyperactivity and adolescent conduct disorder were found to be significantly related to offending. Later adolescent factors were also found to be important: mixing with deviant peers and leaving school without any qualifications or plans for work. Correlates of offending in adulthood included difficulties in mental health, drug use, marriage and parenting. Further analysis was undertaken to clarify the associations by using ex-care status and conduct disorder as covariates. Discussion Well-established predictors of offending in male samples seem quite as important for women and girls. The findings also suggested strong links between offending and problems in parenting. Copyright © 2004 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source]


Risk factors for adult male criminality in Colombia

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 2 2001
Joanne Klevens
Objectives This study sought to establish, in Colombia, the importance of factors alleged to be causes or correlates of adult criminality according to the published literature from other countries. Methods A comparison was made of arrested male offenders from ages 18 to 30 (n = 223) and similar community controls (n = 222) selected from five cities in Colombia as to their family background, exposure to abuse, family stressors, perceived care and history of childhood disruptive behaviour problems. Results Compared with neighbourhood controls from similar social classes, offenders were significantly more likely to report having had parents with less education, a mother under the age of 18 or over the age of 35 at time of birth, family members involved in crime, experiencing extreme economic deprivation, parental absence, family conflict, severe punishments, physical abuse, and maternal unavailability, rejection and lack of supervision. Prevalence of childhood disruptive behaviour problems was similar among offenders and controls. These findings appear to be independent of economic status, family size or type, birth order, or primary caregiver. Although the independent contribution of most of these factors is small, once all others have been controlled for, their cumulative effect is strong. Conclusions The findings obtained in this Latin American setting do not support the generalized view that adult antisocial behaviour is necessarily preceded by a history of childhood behaviour problems. However, they do add evidence for the importance of family factors in the risk for adult criminality. Copyright © 2001 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source]


The prediction of disruptive behaviour disorders in an urban community sample: the contribution of person-centred analyses

THE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 6 2004
Keith B. Burt
Background:, Variable- and person-centred analyses were used to examine prediction of middle childhood behaviour problems from earlier child and family measures. Method:, A community sample of 164 families, initially recruited at antenatal clinics at two South London practices, was assessed for children's behaviour problems and cognitive ability, maternal mental health, and the family environment when the children were 4 years old. At age 11, children, mothers, and teachers reported the child's disruptive behaviour, and mothers and children were interviewed to identify cases of disruptive behaviour disorders (DBD). Results:, Neither social class nor ethnicity predicted the child's disruptive behaviour at age 11. Rather, path analyses and logistic regression analyses drew attention to early behavioural problems, maternal mental health and the child's cognitive ability at 4 as predictors of disruptive behaviour at age 11. Cluster analysis extended these findings by identifying two distinct pathways to disruptive symptoms and disorder. In one subgroup children who showed intellectual difficulties at 4 had become disruptive by 11. In a second subgroup mothers and children both showed psychological problems when the child was 4, and the children were disruptive at age 11. The person-centred approach also revealed a high-functioning group of cognitively able 4-year-olds in supportive environments, at especially low risk for DBD. Conclusions:, Combining variable- and person-centred analytic approaches can aid prediction of children's problems, draw attention to pertinent developmental pathways, and help integrate data from multiple informants. [source]