The effect of a sport-based intervention to prevent juvenile delinquency in at-risk adolescents

Despite the wide implementation of sport-based crime prevention programs, there is a lack of empirical knowledge on the effectiveness of these interventions. This study evaluated a Dutch sport-based program in N = 368 youth at risk for juvenile delinquency. Intervention effects were tested in a quasi-experimental study, comparing the intervention group with a comparison group using multiple sources of information. The study was conducted under conditions that resemble real-life implementation, thereby enhancing the relevance of this contribution to practitioners. The primary outcome was juvenile delinquency, measured by official police data. The secondary outcomes were risk and protective factors for delinquency, assessed with self- and teacher reports. A significant effect was found on one delinquency measure. The intervention group consisted of fewer youth with police registrations as a suspect than the comparison group (d = −0.34). We did not find an intervention effect on the number of registrations as a suspect in each group. In addition, no significant intervention effects were found on the secondary outcomes. Implications for theory and practice concerning the use of sport-based crime prevention programs are discussed

Temper tantrums in toddlers and preschoolers: Longitudinal associations with adjustment problems

Objective: We examined parent reports of temper tantrum characteristics (e.g., frequency, duration, and behavioral profile) in toddlers and preschoolers and their longitudinal association with internalizing and externalizing adjustment problems. Methods: Parents of 1- to 5-year-olds (N = 861, Mage = 36 months, 47% girls) reported their child's temper tantrum frequency, duration, and behaviors. A subsample also reported on their child's tantrums and adjustment problems 1 year later (n = 252). We first compared the distribution of temper tantrum frequency and duration for different ages. Next, we examined which factors underlie the tantrum behaviors and whether behavioral profiles could be distinguished based on configurations of these factors within children. Finally, we performed regression analyses predicting internalizing and externalizing adjustment problems by temper tantrum frequency, duration, and behavioral profile, controlling for child sex and age. Results: Chi-square tests indicated that overall, tantrum frequency declined, whereas tantrum duration increased across the 1- to 5-year age range. We found that based on 4 tantrum behavior factors (anger, distress, aggression, and self-injurious behavior), 3 profiles characterized the tantrum behavior of children in the sample: a low-intensity profile (26%), a moderate-intensity profile (32%), and a high aggressive/self-injurious profile (42%). More frequent tantrums predicted more externalizing problems, whereas longer tantrum duration predicted internalizing problems. The high aggressive/self-injurious profile predicted adjustment problems above and beyond tantrum duration and frequency. Conclusion: Parent reports of different tantrum characteristics are uniquely predictive of different types of problems and may each be important to include in screening efforts for adjustment problems in young children