Desistance versus persistence in antisocial behavior

描述(申请人提供)：虽然持续反社会行为的预测因素已经被确定，但缺乏对儿童进入成年期的纵向研究，限制了我们对与严重和持续犯罪相关的发展过程的理解。对于导致一些人在几年后表现出严重反社会行为的因素，人们更是知之甚少。这一领域的有限研究表明，青少年犯罪的止步一般发生在青春期后期和成年期早期。本提案将在匹兹堡青年研究(PYS)的两个样本中检查与坚持和停止反社会行为相关的过程。最年轻和最年长的PYs样本从童年到青春期都得到了跟踪，几乎没有消耗(分别为18次和16次纵向评估)。通过在25岁(最年轻的样本)和30岁(最大的样本)对两个样本进行跟踪调查，我们将能够检查在成年早期持续和抵制严重反社会行为的性质，以及确定与这些结果相关的儿童/青少年因素。此外，我们将探索抵抗者是否能够像调整后的成年人一样正常工作，没有重大的心理健康问题(例如，反社会人格障碍、药物滥用、抑郁症)。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): While predictors of persistent antisocial behavior have been identified, a dearth of longitudinal studies following children into adulthood has limited our understanding of the developmental processes associated with serious and persisting delinquency. Even less is known about the factors that lead some individuals who exhibit serious antisocial behavior over several years to later refrain from such behavior. The limited research in this area has suggested that desistance from delinquency generally takes place in late adolescence and early adulthood. The present proposal will examine processes associated with persistence and desistence from antisocial behavior in two samples of the Pittsburgh Youth Study (PYS). The youngest and oldest samples of the PYS have been followed from childhood through adolescence with little attrition (18 and 16 longitudinal assessments, respectively). By following up the two samples at ages 25 (youngest sample) and 30 (oldest sample), we will be able to examine the nature of persistence and desistence from serious antisocial behavior across early adulthood, as well as to establish childhood/adolescent factors related to these outcomes. In addition, we will explore whether resistors are able to function as well adjusted adults, free from significant mental health problems (e.g., antisocial personality disorder, substance abuse, depression).