Accumulating data indicates that neurosteroids can modulate aggressive behavior. The aim of the present study was to examine neurosteroid blood levels in delinquent adolescent boys as compared to normal healthy controls. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) and cortisol blood levels were measured in 16 delinquent adolescent (age 15.72+/-0.95 years) with conduct...

This study examined adolescent attachment organization as a predictor of the development of social skills and delinquent behavior during midadolescence. Delinquent activity and skill levels were assessed for 117 moderately at-risk adolescents at ages 16 and 18, and maternal and adolescent attachment organization and autonomy in interactions were assessed at age 16. Adolescent attachment securit...

The present longitudinal study examined resting heart rate and heart rate variability and reactivity to a stressful gambling task in adopted adolescents with aggressive, delinquent, or internalizing behavior problems and adopted adolescents without behavior problems (total N5 151). Early-onset delinquent adolescents showed heart rate hyporeactivity to the stress-eliciting gambling task compared...

The aim of this study was to test whether the associations between adolescent-parent attachment and externalizing problem behavior of adolescents were mediated by adolescent cognitive distortions, self-esteem, parental monitoring and association with deviant peers. A total of 102 adolescents (71 % male; aged 12-19 years) at risk for developing delinquent behaviors reported on attachment, parent...

Existing quantitative-theoretic models of bankruptcy do not make a distinction between bankruptcy and default. In reality, default occurs first and is generally – but not always (and perhaps not even typically) – followed by a bankruptcy filing months later. While we possess reasonably sophisticated models of household default, we do not possess a comparably sophisticated model about the timing...

BACKGROUND Several studies have reported criminal and violent behaviour in people with schizophrenia but few have investigated the association between affective disorders and violent behaviour. METHODS We reviewed the national crime register for records of criminal offences committed by 1561 patients with affective disorders treated between 1990 and 1995 in the Psychiatric Hospital of the Uni...

A number of studies have found a negative relationship between IQ and delinquent involvement. Some researchers maintain that IQ is a spurious variable in the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and delinquency, whereas others assert that IQ bears a causal relationship to delinquency that is independent of the effects of SES. Results from two Danish prospective longitudinal studies a...

There is a wide range of studies linking Eysenck’s model of personality with delinquency. Nevertheless, the results are contradictory and less well documented for adolescents. In this paper we aim to explore the link between the personality traits of the Big-Five model and the presence of a conduct disorder. In order to develop efficient prevention programs for delinquent behavior, we also real...

2 studies used a laboratory measure of verbal aggressive behavior in which boys competed in pairs against one another in assembling a formboard. In Study I, 80 delinquent boys were subjected either to intense or mild verbal attack by a delinquent accomplice. Intense verbal aggression led to more retaliatory verbal aggression than did mild distraction. In Study II, 128 delinquent boys competed a...

Boys who exhibit interpersonal callousness (IC), hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI), inattention (IN), and conduct problems (CP) may be at risk for exhibiting persistent delinquent behavior. However, few studies have established the distinctiveness of these constructs or examined their relative contributions to the prediction of delinquent behavior across different developmental periods. This study...