Title: The role of environmental characteristics in changing the pathways to adolescent antisocial behaviour of high- and low-risk children
1The role of environmental characteristics in
changing the pathways to adolescent antisocial
behaviour of high- and low-risk children
- Nick Richardson, Diana Smart, Suzanne Vassallo
and Ann Sanson - Australian Institute of Family Studies
- Inez Dussuyer
- Crime Prevention Victoria
- Websites
- www.aifs.gov.au/atp/
- www.crimeprevention.vic.gov.au
2The Australian Temperament Project 1983-2004
- A longitudinal study of a large representative
sample of children and families from the state of
Victoria - Ann Sanson
- Margot Prior
- Frank Oberklaid
- Diana Smart
- John Toumbourou
- ..and many others
- See Prior, Sanson, Smart Oberklaid (2000)
Pathways from infancy to adolescence Australian
Temperament Project 1983-2000.
3The Australian Temperament Project
- A longitudinal study of childrens development
from infancy to adulthood - Representative sample of over 2400 children and
families from urban and rural areas of Victoria - 13 waves of data since 1983 collected at 1-2
yearly intervals by mail survey
4The ATP, continued
- Domains assessed temperament, behaviour
problems, school adjustment, health, social
competence, family functioning, peer
relationships, parenting style and family
environment, adolescent antisocial behaviour and
substance use - Parents, MCH nurses, teachers and
children/teenagers have acted as informants - These findings are based on a sample of 1286 ATP
participants (51 male)
5Issues investigated regarding teenage antisocial
behaviour
- what are the across-time patterns of adolescent
antisocial behaviour? - what are the risk factors and precursors of
adolescent antisocial behaviour? - at what age do differences between antisocial and
non-antisocial groups emerge? - are there gender differences in levels of
antisocial behaviour, and pathways to such
behaviour?
6Developmental pathways to antisocial behaviour
- Previous research has focused on across time
patterns adolescent antisocial behaviour. - Identified developmental pathways and precursors
of antisocial behaviour. - Less is known about changes in development
pathways. - Resilience bouncing back at risk at Time 1,
but avoid poor outcome at Time 2 how/why? - Low risk at Time 1 but problematic at Time 2
how/why?
7Changing pathways to adolescent
antisocial behaviour - questions explored
- Can developmental pathways of resilient and low
risk but antisocial children be identified? - Are there sensitive ages and developmental stages
where pathways are particularly modifiable? - What personal or environmental characteristics
differentiate between resilient and antisocial
children, which may have a protective role? - Which personal or environmental characteristics
play a role in diverting those progressing well
onto problematic pathways?
8Frequent antisocial behaviour definition
- High antisocial behaviour THREE or more of the
following on one or more occasions during the
past 12 months - been in physical fights with others
- damaged something in a public place on purpose
- stolen something (from a person or a house)
- driven a car without permission
- been suspended or expelled from school
- graffiti drawing in public places
- carried a weapon (for example, gun, knife)
- shoplifted
- run away from home and stayed away overnight or
longer - sold illegal drugs
- attacked someone with the idea of seriously
harming them - used marijuana (within the past month)
- used hard drugs e.g. amphetamines, cocaine,
designer drugs
9Across-time patterns of antisocial behaviour from
13 to 18 years
- Focused on 3 groups-
- (1) Low/non antisocial group
- (n844, 73 of sample, 40.9 male)
- ? low levels of antisocial behaviour (lt3) at all
three time points - (2) Persistentantisicial group
- (n131, 11 per cent of sample, 64.9 male)
- ? high levels of antisocial behaviour (3) at
two or more time points, - including 17-18 years of age
10Pathways of persistent and experimental
antisocial groups over time
11Differences between groups on -
- temperament style especially negativity,
volatility and low persistence - aggressive, acting out, hyperactive behaviour
problems - lower social competence, e.g. self control,
cooperation - friendships with antisocial peers
- school attachment and adjustment (during
adolescence) - sensation seeking attraction to risk taking
- parenting practices and style e.g. lower
supervision, harsh discipline, less warmth - poorer parent-child relationship quality
- less cohesive family environment, higher rates of
marital break-up during childs lifetime
12Rationale for development or risk index
- 11-12 years an important threshold point - the
earliest age of appearance of powerful and
widespread differences between the Persistent and
Low/non antisocial groups - therefore selected as the time point at which to
identify children as being at risk - individual characteristics are believed to lay
the foundation for subsequent antisocial
behaviour, placing a child at-risk - environmental characteristics (such as family,
peer and school environments) may reduce or
accentuate this risk in vulnerable individuals
13Risk Index
- At-risk within the most problematic 25 of
the ATP cohort on THREE or more of the following
characteristics at 11-12 years - highly active temperament style (parent)
- highly reactive temperament style (parent)
- low task persistent temperament style (parent)
- low task orientation temperament style (teacher)
- high aggression (parent, teacher, child)
- high hyperactivity (parent, teacher, child)
- low cooperativeness (parent, teacher, child)
- low self-control (parent, teacher, child)
14Formation of risk groups
- at-risk antisocial (n78, 72 male 6.5 risks)
- 3 risks at 11-12 yrs and persistently
antisocial in adolescence - at-risk resilient (n100, 60 male 5.8 risks)
- randomly selected from 286 children with 3
risks at 11-12 yrs little or no antisocial
behaviour in adolescence - low risk antisocial (n42, 57 male 1.6 risks)
- lt3 risks at 11-12 yrs and persistently
antisocial in adolescence - exploratory examination
- low risk comparison group (n880, 49 male 1.3
risks) - the remainder of the sample
15Developmental pathways - resilient group
- the resilient and at-risk antisocial groups were
similar to each other and more problematic than
the comparison group during toddlerhood and
childhood - But
- there was a marked improvement in the resilient
group over the early adolescent years which
continued throughout adolescence - So that
- by 17-18, the resilient group resembled the
comparison group on many characteristics
16Aggression
difference between resilient at-risk
antisocial groups difference between both
at-risk groups and comparison group
17Temperament Style
difference between resilient at-risk
antisocial groups difference between both
at-risk groups and comparison group
18Parent-child relationship
difference between resilient at-risk
antisocial groups difference between both
at-risk groups and comparison group
19Parenting Style
difference between resilient at-risk
antisocial groups difference between both
at-risk groups and comparison group
20School Adjustment/Achievement
difference between resilient antisocial
groups difference between both at-risk groups
and comparison group
21Protective factors
difference between resilient antisocial
groups
22Protective factors
difference between resilient antisocial groups
23Protective factors
- difference between resilient antisocial groups
- difference between both at-risk groups and
comparison group
24Differences between antisocial and resilient
groups in adolescence
- No differences in childhood, but
- Numerous differences during ADOLESCENCE,
- during which the Resilient group was
consistently - less difficult temperamentally
- less aggressive, depressed and hyperactive
- more cooperative and self-controlled
- less sensation-seeking
- had more positive parent-child relationships
- received more parental supervision
- received less harsh discipline from parents
- were more strongly attached to school
- had fewer friendships with antisocial peers
- were less involved with peers
- had less positive peer relationships
25Low risk, but persistently antisocial, adolescents
- the low-risk antisocial groups resembled the
comparison group over childhood and appeared to
developing well - But
- The low-risk antisocial individuals became more
problematic in several areas over adolescence
26Aggression
27School adjustment and achievement
28Association with antisocial peers
29Low-risk but persistently antisocial Summary
- the low risk persistently antisocial group
appeared to change over early to mid adolescence - this group was generally less problematic than
the high risk persistently antisocial group - friendships with antisocial peers again emerged
as a powerful influence, as well as lower school
attachment and adjustment, aggressiveness, and
poorer social skills - In late adolescence this group became more
difficult temperamentally, more attracted to
risk taking, coped with stress less effectively,
and received less parental supervision
30Conclusions and Implications
- Developmental pathways can change in late
childhood so intervention may still be successful
at this age - The early adolescent years appear to be a crucial
transition point in pathways to adolescent
antisocial behaviour - The powerful role of peer relationships
31Implications, continued
- The influence of school bonding and adjustment in
the early secondary school years - Flexibility of pathways - the important role of
environmental factors