Social influences, peer delinquency, and low self-control: An examination of time-varying and reciprocal effects on delinquency over adolescence

We examine an integrated dynamic model of social influences and internal controls on delinquency in adolescence. We assessed to what extent parental bonds, peer delinquency, and self-control were reciprocally related to delinquency throughout adolescence, and whether their effects were time varying. We applied cross-lagged panel models to analyze these relationships using three waves of data from a sample of Swiss youth at ages 13 to 17. Results suggest that self-control is a strong predictor for future delinquent behavior. Moreover, social influences affect self-control into adolescence, contributing to a growing area of research on the dynamic properties of self-control over the life course. Social influences, in particular peer delinquency, are also reciprocally related to delinquency, implying that delinquency can lead to cumulative disadvantages that further entrench individuals in antisocial pathways over the life course.</jats:p

The co-development of friends’ delinquency with adolescents’ delinquency and short-term mindsets:The moderating role of co-offending

The companions in crime hypothesis suggests that co-offending moderates the link between peer delinquency and adolescent delinquency. However, this hypothesis has rarely been investigated longitudinally. Hence, this study investigated the co-development of friends’ delinquency and adolescents’ delinquency, as well as the co-development of friends’ delinquency and short-term mindsets (impulsivity and lack of school future orientation). Whether this co-development is stronger when adolescents engage in co-offending was also investigated. Three data waves with two year lags from an ethnically-diverse adolescent sample (at wave 1: N = 1365; 48.6% female; M(age) = 13.67; age range = 12.33–15.09 years) in Switzerland were used. The results from parallel process latent growth modeling showed that the co-development between friends’ delinquency and adolescents’ delinquency was stronger when adolescents engaged in co-offending. Thus co-offending likely provides direct access to a setting in which adolescents continue to model the delinquency they learned with their peers

Enquêtes populationnelles sur la victimisation et la délinquance chez les jeunes dans les cantons de Vaud et Zurich : Les jeunes non-exclusivement hétérosexuel∙le∙s : populations davantage exposées ?

Les personnes lesbiennes, gays, bisexuelles et transgenres (LGBT) sont nombreuses à être Les personnes lesbiennes, gays, bisexuelles et transgenres (LGBT) sont nombreuses à être confrontées à des violences psychologiques, verbales et/ou physiques. En effet, les jeunes faisantpartie de minorités sexuelles sont plus fréquemment victimisé·e·s à l’école que leurs pair·e·s. Ils·Elles sont par exemple plus nombreux·euses à avoir été victimes de vols ou à avoir eu leurs affaires cassées et sont également significativement plus nombreux·euses à avoir manqué l’école du fait qu’ils·elles ne s’y sentaient pas en sécurité. Relevons également que la part de jeunes lesbiennes, gays, bisexuel·le·s (LGB) ayant vécu des rapports sexuels non consentis est également plus importante. Les jeunes faisant partie de minorité sexuelles sont également plus souvent victimes de harcèlement. Les données de la dernière enquête « Youth Risk Behavior Survey » (YRBS, 2015) indiquent que 34% des jeunes LGB, 25% des jeunes en questionnement quant à leur orientation sexuelle et 19% des jeunes hétérosexuel·le·s ont été harcelé à l’école au cours de 12 derniers mois. Enfin, les adolescents et jeunes hommes faisant partie de minorités sexuelles sont plus souvent victimes de violences homophobes. Le premier objectif du présent rapport consiste à déterminer le taux de jeunes de 15 ans scolarisé·e·s n’ayant pas une attirance sexuelle exclusivement hétérosexuelle dans ces deux cantons et le second à déterminer dans quelle mesure ces personnes sont plus touchées par différentes problématiques comme la victimisation, la consommation de substances psychoactives, le harcèlement en milieu scolaire, la délinquance, ou encore les problèmes de santé

Can the social behavior questionnaire help meet the need for dimensional, transdiagnostic measures of childhood and adolescent psychopathology?

Abstract. The shift toward transdiagnostic and dimensional approaches to psychopathology research has created a growing need for psychometric assessments that reflect this conceptualization. We aimed to test whether an omnibus measure of psychopathology, the Social Behavior Questionnaire (SBQ), has suitable properties to serve as a dimensional, transdiagnostic assessment. We used an item response theory (IRT) approach to evaluate the reliable ranges of measurement of the psychopathology dimensions measured by the SBQ. For the dimensions of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Prosociality, Internalizing, and Externalizing, the SBQ can provide a reliable measure for below average to very high levels in a normative sample. </jats:p

Validation of the English language version of the Violent Ideations Scale

This study used a within-participant design to evaluate the concurrent validity and test–retest reliability of the Violent Ideations Scale in a general population, English-speaking opportunistic sample. Data from 116 adult participants (M age = 33.7, SD = 11.9, male = 30 [25.9%]) were used to compare scores on the Violent Ideations Scale and Aggression Questionnaire and responses to the Schedule of Imagined Violence. A subgroup of 27 participants (M age = 37.2, SD = 13.6, male = 8 [29.6%]) completed the Violent Ideations Scale on a second occasion, 2 weeks later. The Violent Ideations Scale was found to correlate significantly with the Aggression Questionnaire subscale and total scores, with the strongest correlations being with physical aggression and total scores. Participants were more likely to be categorized as having experienced a violent ideation based on responses to the Violent Ideation Scale, compared with the Schedule of Imagined Violence, most likely due to the Schedule of Imagined Violence underestimating the prevalence of violent ideation. A significant, strong correlation was found between total Violent Ideations Scale scores at Time 1 and Time 2. Overall, the Violent Ideations Scale was found to have concurrent validity when compared with the Aggression Questionnaire and good test–retest reliability, suggesting that it would be suitable for use with a nonclinical, English-speaking sampl

No Evidence That Substance Use Causes ADHD Symptoms in Adolescence

There is a robust association between attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and elevated substance use. Several plausible causal pathways from ADHD to substance use have been articulated and supported empirically. In this study, we tested the recent suggestion that substance use could also influence levels of ADHD symptoms. Using the three most recent waves of data from the Zurich Project on the Social Development of Children and Youth (z-proso), we found significant and strong cross-lagged effects of ADHD symptoms on substance use but no significant effects in the opposite direction. This suggests that individual differences in substance use are not related to increases in ADHD symptoms in adolescence. Adolescent-onset symptoms of ADHD are thus unlikely to be caused by substance use, and targeting substance use problems is unlikely to reduce ADHD symptoms.Funding from the Jacobs Foundation (Grant 2010-888) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (Grants 100013_116829 & 100014_132124) is gratefully acknowledged

Sanctions, short‐term mind-sets, and delinquency: Reverse causality in a sample of high school youth

Education and Child Studie

Children's trust and the development of prosocial behavior

This study examined the role of children's trust beliefs and trustworthiness in the development of prosocial behavior using data from four waves of a longitudinal study in a large, ethnically-diverse sample of children in Switzerland (mean age = 8.11 years at Time 1, N = 1,028). Prosocial behavior directed towards peers was measured at all assessment points by teacher reports. Children's trust beliefs and their trustworthiness with peers were assessed and calculated by a social relations analysis at the first assessment point using children's reports of the extent to which classmates kept promises. In addition, teacher reports of children's trustworthiness were assessed at all four assessment points. Latent growth curve modeling yielded a decrease in prosocial behavior over time. Peer- and teacher-reported trustworthiness predicted higher initial levels of prosocial behavior, and peer-reported trustworthiness predicted less steep decreases in prosocial behavior over time. Autoregressive cross-lagged analysis also revealed bidirectional longitudinal associations between teacher-reported trustworthiness and prosocial behavior. We discuss the implications of the findings for research on the role of trust in the development of children's prosocial behavior

The shortsighted victim: Short-term mindsets mediate the link between victimization and later offending

Background: Predominant explanations of the victim-offender overlap tend to focus on shared causes, such as (low) self-control or risky lifestyles. Such explanations bypass the possibility of a causal link between victimization and offending. We draw on evolutionary developmental psychology and criminological research to propose and test the hypothesis that victimization induces what we refer to as a short-term mindset, i.e., an orientation towards the here-and-now at the expense of considering the future, which in turn increases offending. Methods: We test this mediation hypothesis using structural equation modeling of longitudinal data from a representative sample of urban youth from the city of Zurich, Switzerland (N = 1675). Results: In line with our preregistered predictions, we find that short-term mindsets mediate the effect of victimization on offending, net of prior levels of offending and short-term mindsets, and other controls. Conclusions: We discuss implications for criminological theory and interventions

Improving impact evaluations through randomised experiments : The challenge of the National Research Council report for European criminology

The National Research Council (NRC) report on Improving Evaluation of Anticrime Programs presents and discusses a wide array of techniques of evaluation. Although recognising the very high internal validity of randomised experiments, it considers, under certain conditions, quasi-experiments and observational studies as equally valid approaches. This conclusion is critically reviewed from a European perspective, where only a few randomised trials have been realised so far. It is argued that many critiques routinely addressed to randomised experiments, such as ethical concerns or low acceptance among practitioners, are either unfounded or can be adequately dealt with through imaginative adjustments. On the other hand, randomised controlled trials need to take the challenge of broadening the perspective, especially by looking at long-term effects that no other method can consider with comparable internal validity. Other recommendations include using innovative measures of re-offending, considering dynamic rather than static criteria of re-offending, and looking, beyond re-offending, at rehabilitation in other areas of life. Particular challenges are the possible placebo effects that evaluators in criminal justice have not yet found appropriate ways to deal with