Childhood- versus Adolescent-Onset Antisocial Youth with Conduct Disorder: Psychiatric Illness, Neuropsychological and Psychosocial Function

The present study investigates whether youths with childhood-onset antisocial behavior have higher rates of psychiatric illness, neuropsychological and psychosocial dysfunction than youths who engage in antisocial behavior for the first time in adolescence. Prior studies have generally focused on single domains of function in heterogeneous samples. The present study also examined the extent to which adolescent-onset antisocial behavior can be considered normative, an assumption of Moffitt's dual taxonomy model.Forty-three subjects (34 males, 9 females, mean age = 15.31, age range 12-21) with a diagnosis of conduct disorder (CD) were recruited through Headspace Services and the Juvenile Justice Community Centre. We compared childhood-onset antisocial youths (n = 23) with adolescent-onset antisocial youths (n = 20) with a conduct disorder, across a battery of psychiatric, neuropsychological and psychosocial measures. Neuropsychological function of both groups was also compared with normative scores from control samples.The childhood-onset group displayed deficits in verbal learning and memory, higher rates of psychosis, childhood maltreatment and more serious violent behavior, all effects associated with a large effect size. Both groups had impaired executive function, falling within the extremely low range (severely impaired).Childhood-onset CD displayed greater cognitive impairment, more psychiatric symptoms and committed more serious violent offences. The finding of severe executive impairment in both childhood- and adolescent-onset groupings challenges the assumption that adolescent-onset antisocial behavior is a normative process

Impact of Prison Status on HIV-Related Risk Behaviors

Baseline data were collected to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions on completion of the hepatitis A and B vaccine series among 664 sheltered and street-based homeless adults who were: (a) homeless; (b) recently (<1 year) discharged from prison; (c) discharged 1 year or more; and (d) never incarcerated. Group differences at baseline were assessed for socio–demographic characteristics, drug and alcohol use, sexual activity, mental health and public assistance. More than one-third of homeless persons (38%) reported prison time and 16% of the sample had been recently discharged from prison. Almost half of persons who were discharged from prison at least 1 year ago reported daily use of drugs and alcohol over the past 6 months compared to about 1 in 5 among those who were recently released from prison. As risk for HCV and HIV co-infection continues among homeless ex-offenders, HIV/HCV prevention efforts are needed for this population

Assessing serious harm under the doctrine of Doli Incapax : a case study

The doctrine of doli incapax has become controversial in recent decades, with attempts to remove it in some countries, and with varying upper and lower limits in age applied. One construction of doli incapax refers to the accruing maturity of the child to the point where mens rea is achieved. This article explores the tension between developmental and legalistic notions of how children come to understand what is “seriously wrong” and refers to a case study in which a developmentally delayed young person was charged with a sexual offence. The tension between chronological and mental age, the impact of mental age on moral reasoning, and how to assess retrospectively what a child might or might not apprehend as seriously wrong is discussed. The argument concludes with a call to consider legislative change to incorporate mental age when considering age thresholds for the presumption of doli incapax in Australia.10 page(s

Grooming for terror : the internet and young people

The use of the Internet to spawn hate sites and recruit advocates for hate began as early as the mid-1980s in bulletin boards, and the first acknowledged hate site was Stormfront, in the early 1990s. Since then hundreds of hate sites and other websites advocating terror have been developed, some with stated aims of recruiting young people and influencing extreme action. This article reviews what is currently known about the development of hate sites into sophisticated recruitment and atitude-influencing mechanisms. The questions asked are: how do hate sites recruit members who might normally not be involved in hate and extreme action, how may hate sites radicalize the actions of young people already accepting of the mindset advocated by the website, and how effective is Internet recruitment?14 page(s

Forward, Gillick : are competent children autonomous medical decision makers? New developments in Australia

Another chapter has opened in the tortured history of the status of Gillick competence. Never before has Gillick been extended to permit a mature child to make autonomous medical decisions over and above the curial 'parens patriae' power. In 2013, two judicial decisions promulgated from different Australian courts are in conflict over this most fundamental of questions. This Article situates the law of the 'parens patriae' power in Australia and, drawing on overseas conceptualizations of analogous doctrine, explores the bases for and potential consequences of this conflict.10 page(s

Family risk assessment : characteristics of families with child abuse notifications in Australia

Valid and reliable assessments are required by Courts to assist in the determination of child-at-risk findings, and in the allocation of abused children into care. This study reports on the construct validation of an actuarial risk assessment instrument: the Family Risk of Abuse and Neglect (FRAAN). One hundred and fifty expert reports were reviewed and two superordinate constructs representing history of child abuse and appropriate parenting skills respectively were extracted from the reports. The results revealed that high FRAAN scores were associated with a history of investigations for child abuse, but there was no relationship between FRAAN scores and the second construct. The results support the validity of the FRAAN for assessing risk factors associated with child abuse.15 page(s