Abstract

Developmental psychologists have often demonstrated that childhood antisocial behaviors (ABs) are important precursors of offending. However, our ability to identify children with the worst prognoses for later behavioral problems remains limited. In adolescent and adult samples, offense specialization and versatility are reliable predictors of recidivism (i.e., persistence) or the lack thereof. Assuming that specialization and versatility arise during childhood, studying these patterns should prove informative regarding the persistence and transience of ABs in children. Accordingly, our objective was to determine whether subsets of preschoolers specialized in certain subtypes of ABs, with their proclivity predicting different rates of transitions into groups that presented ABs at later developmental stages. To assess the theoretical validity of the results pertaining to these subsets, we included parenting behaviors and children’s temperamental characteristics as predictors. The sample consisted of 525 children assessed at ages 3-5, 6-8, and 10-12. The study variables were measured via mother-rated questionnaires (e.g., Child Behavior Checklist, Parenting Dimensions Inventory). Through latent transition analysis, we derived latent profiles at each timepoint using four indicators: aggression, opposition, property violations, and status offenses. At Time 1, the analyses yielded normative, aggression specialists, property violations specialists, and severe generalists subsets. At Times 2 and 3, normative, non-aggressive generalists, and severe generalists subsets emerged. 89.5% of preschoolers classified as aggression specialists and severe generalists belonged to the non-aggressive or severe generalists subsets in preadolescence, while only 40% of property violations specialists did. Such results suggest that specialization modulates the persistence and transience of ABs during childhood. The association between the covariates and the latent profiles were in the expected directions, highlighting the theoretical validity of our findings. By shedding new light upon the subtypes of antisocial behaviors that likely distinguish persistent and transient developmental trajectories of ABs, results from the
present study enriched our understanding of the development of ABs in childhood and improved our ability to make accurate prognoses for children with behavioral problems.