Comparison of Social Development Processes Leading to Violent Behavior in Late Adolescence for Childhood Initiators and Adolescent Initiators of Violence

• NCJ Number: 186981
• Journal: Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 38 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2001 Pages: 45-63
• Author(s): Todd I. Herrenkohl; Bu Huang; Rick Kosterman; J. David Hawkins; Richard F. Catalano; Brian H. Smith
• Editor(s): Mercer L. Sullivan
• Date Published: February 2001
• Length: 19 pages
• Grant Number(s): 1R24MH56587; 1R24MH56599; R01DA09679
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse; National Institute of Mental Health
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study used data from the Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP) to compare social development mechanisms that predicted violence at 18 years of age for young people who initiated violence in childhood and young people who initiated violence during adolescence.

Abstract

The SSDP is a theory-guided longitudinal study of youth development and behavior that has followed a panel of children since they entered the 5th grade in 1985. A multiple-group structural equation modeling approach was used to test relationships between social development model constructs hypothesized to predict violence and other forms of anti-social behavior. Analysis revealed that, during adolescence, socialization pathways leading to violence at 18 years of age were similar for those who initiated violence in childhood and those who initiated violence in adolescence. The findings suggest that, during adolescence, the same preventive interventions may be effective for individuals in both groups. 51 references, 3 tables, and 2 figures