Continuity of Aggression from Childhood to Early Adulthood As a Predictor of Life Outcomes: Implications for the Adolescent-limited and Life-course-persistent Models

Overview

Journal Aggress Behav

Specialty Social Sciences

Date 2009 Feb 4

PMID 19189380

Citations 66

Authors

L Rowell Huesmann

Eric F Dubow

Paul Boxer

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Using data from the Columbia County Longitudinal Study, a 40-year longitudinal study following an entire county's population of third-grade students from age 8 to 48, we examine questions about the long-term consequences of aggressive and antisocial behavior in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. We found moderate levels of continuity of aggression from age 8 to 48 both for males and for females. Contrary to what some have proposed, we found that continuity of aggressiveness is owing to not only the high-aggressive participants staying high but also owing to the low-aggressive participants staying low. Compared with life-course-persistent low aggressives, we found that life-course-persistent high aggressives had consistently poorer outcomes across domains of life success, criminal behavior, and psychosocial functioning at age 48 (e.g., arrests, traffic violations, aggression toward spouse and divorces, depression, health, occupational and educational attainment). In contrast, adolescent-limited and child-limited aggressives did not differ from life-course-persistent low aggressives on the age 48 outcomes. Finally, the outcomes for late-onset (early adulthood) aggressives were also problematic in some domains though not as problematic as those for life-course-persistent aggressives.

Citing Articles

Does Executive Functioning Moderate the Association Between Psychopathic Traits and Antisocial Behavior in Youth?.

Joseph J, Waschbusch D Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol. 2025; .

PMID: 39869283 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-024-01283-w.

A retrospective descriptive study of male perpetrators of intimate partner violence referred by judicial authorities: an example from Turkey.

Sehlikoglu S, Nalbant A, Sehlikoglu K, Almis B Arch Womens Ment Health. 2024; 28(1):129-138.

PMID: 39023650 PMC: 11761531. DOI: 10.1007/s00737-024-01495-5.

PROTOCOL: The efficacy of nutritional interventions in reducing childhood/youth aggressive and antisocial behavior: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Konkoly Thege B, Kinzel E, Hartmann-Boyce J, Choy O Campbell Syst Rev. 2024; 20(2):e1400.

PMID: 38638327 PMC: 11024636. DOI: 10.1002/cl2.1400.

Genetic associations of risk behaviours and educational achievement.

Arellano Spano M, Morris T, Davies N, Hughes A Commun Biol. 2024; 7(1):435.

PMID: 38600303 PMC: 11006670. DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06091-y.

Prefrontal cortex structural and developmental associations with callous-unemotional traits and aggression.

Hostetler N, Tavares T, Ritchie M, Oliver L, Chen V, Greening S Sci Rep. 2024; 14(1):4087.

PMID: 38374428 PMC: 10876571. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54481-3.

References

Juon H, Doherty E, Ensminger M . Childhood Behavior and Adult Criminality: Cluster Analysis in a Prospective Study of African Americans. J Quant Criminol. 2018; 22(3):193-214. PMC: 6053050. View

Dubow E, Boxer P, Huesmann L . Long-term Effects of Parents' Education on Children's Educational and Occupational Success: Mediation by Family Interactions, Child Aggression, and Teenage Aspirations. Merrill Palmer Q (Wayne State Univ Press). 2010; 55(3):224-249. PMC: 2853053. DOI: 10.1353/mpq.0.0030. View

Farrington D . The Twelfth Jack Tizard Memorial Lecture. The development of offending and antisocial behaviour from childhood: key findings from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1995; 36(6):929-64. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1995.tb01342.x. View

Farrington D . Early predictors of adolescent aggression and adult violence. Violence Vict. 1989; 4(2):79-100. View

Frick P . Developmental pathways to conduct disorder. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2006; 15(2):311-31, vii. DOI: 10.1016/j.chc.2005.11.003. View

Broidy L, Nagin D, Tremblay R, Bates J, Brame B, Dodge K . Developmental trajectories of childhood disruptive behaviors and adolescent delinquency: a six-site, cross-national study. Dev Psychol. 2003; 39(2):222-45. PMC: 2753823. DOI: 10.1037//0012-1649.39.2.222. View

Ware Jr J, Sherbourne C . The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36). I. Conceptual framework and item selection. Med Care. 1992; 30(6):473-83. View

Kokko K, Pulkkinen L, Huesmann L, Dubow E, Boxer P . Intensity of Aggression in Childhood as a Predictor of Different Forms of Adult Aggression: A Two-Country (Finland and United States) Analysis. J Res Adolesc. 2009; 19(1):9-34. PMC: 2771930. DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-7795.2009.00579.x. View

. A cognitive-ecological approach to preventing aggression in urban settings: initial outcomes for high-risk children. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2002; 70(1):179-94. View

10.

Loeber R, Stouthamer-Loeber M . Development of juvenile aggression and violence. Some common misconceptions and controversies. Am Psychol. 1998; 53(2):242-59. DOI: 10.1037//0003-066x.53.2.242. View

11.

Huesmann L, Eron L, Dubow E . Childhood predictors of adult criminality: are all risk factors reflected in childhood aggressiveness?. Crim Behav Ment Health. 2003; 12(3):185-208. DOI: 10.1002/cbm.496. View

12.

Dubow E, Huesmann L, Boxer P . Theoretical and methodological considerations in cross-generational research on parenting and child aggressive behavior. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2003; 31(2):185-92; discussion 201-3. PMC: 4512166. DOI: 10.1023/a:1022526325204. View

13.

Loeber R . The stability of antisocial and delinquent child behavior: a review. Child Dev. 1982; 53(6):1431-46. View

14.

Moffitt T . Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: a developmental taxonomy. Psychol Rev. 1993; 100(4):674-701. View

15.

Moffitt T . Juvenile delinquency and attention deficit disorder: boys' developmental trajectories from age 3 to age 15. Child Dev. 1990; 61(3):893-910. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1990.tb02830.x. View

16.

Boxer P, Goldstein S, Musher-Eizenman D, Dubow E, Heretick D . Developmental issues in school-based aggression prevention from a social-cognitive perspective. J Prim Prev. 2005; 26(5):383-400. DOI: 10.1007/s10935-005-0005-9. View

17.

. Trajectories of physical aggression from toddlerhood to middle childhood: predictors, correlates, and outcomes. Monogr Soc Res Child Dev. 2005; 69(4):vii, 1-129. DOI: 10.1111/j.0037-976x.2004.00312.x. View

18.

Miles D, Carey G . Genetic and environmental architecture of human aggression. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1997; 72(1):207-17. DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.72.1.207. View

19.

Duncan G, Dowsett C, Claessens A, Magnuson K, Huston A, Klebanov P . School readiness and later achievement. Dev Psychol. 2007; 43(6):1428-1446. DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1428. View

20.

Dubow E, Huesmann L, Boxer P, Pulkkinen L, Kokko K . Middle childhood and adolescent contextual and personal predictors of adult educational and occupational outcomes: a mediational model in two countries. Dev Psychol. 2006; 42(5):937-49. DOI: 10.1037/0012-1649.42.5.937. View