The authors examined the degree to which callous-unemotional traits and narcissism predict relational aggression, social aggression, and prosocial skills in a sample of 79 adolescent offenders (13-18 years old; 26% girls; 74% boys) attending a school for youth with behavior disorders in the Mid-Atlantic United States. Narcissism made a significant…

In recent years, there has been a growing social, educational, and public policy focus on investigating the correlates associated with youth carrying weapons in their communities and schools. Victimization and other correlates such as drug use and violent risk behaviors among youth have been linked to deviant behavior including weapon carrying.…

Introduction: This study examined whether adolescents with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) differed in affect variability and whether variability in positive and negative affect was associated with functional outcomes. Method: Participants were 302 adolescents (12-14 years, "M"age=13.17, 55% male; 54%…

Background: The low expression polymorphism of the MAOA gene in interaction with adverse environments (G × E) is associated with antisocial behaviour disorders. These have their origins in early life, but it is not known whether MAOA G × E occurs in infants. We therefore examined whether MAOA G × E predicts infant anger proneness, a temperamental…

This study examined influences on delinquency and recidivism using structural equation modeling. The sample comprised 199,204 individuals: 99,602 youth whose cases had been processed by the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and a matched control group of 99,602 youth without juvenile records. Structural equation modeling for the…

The authors examined the role of early adverse experiences, mental health problems, and disabilities in the prediction of juvenile delinquency and recidivism, using a matched-control group design. The delinquent group comprised 99,602 youth, born between 1981 and 1988, whose cases had been processed by the South Carolina Department of Juvenile…

The goal of this study is twofold: (1) to assess brain anatomical differences between children meeting diagnostic criteria for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and healthy controls, and (2) to investigate whether morphological brain characteristics associated with ODD differ in boys and girls. Eight-year-old participants (N = 38) were scanned…

Background: Previous evidence has suggested that clinical characteristics may predict use of restraint in adults with intellectual disability. However, the relationship between specific types of untoward incidents, corresponding interventions (restrictive procedures) and clinical psychopathology remains unclear. Method: We examined all untoward…

If a mother is stressed or anxious while pregnant her child is more likely to show a range of symptoms such as those of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, aggression or anxiety. While there remains some debate about what proportion of these effects are due to the prenatal or the postnatal environment, and the role of…

Physical aggression directed toward parents by their adolescents is a serious issue both practically and scientifically. In contrast to the extensive literature on other forms of aggression within families (e.g., marital violence, child physical abuse) as well as youth aggression construed broadly, a major gap exists in our knowledge of…

Background: Specific thematic content arising from children's doll play is often considered to give clinically meaningful information regarding their mental state, but has received little systematic enquiry. This exploratory study examined the negative and atypical content themes in the attachment story narratives of children with behaviour…

Psychiatric emergency services for children and adolescents vary in process, structure and outcome. There are few systematic studies on the type and prevalence of psychiatric problems encountered, related circumstances or resulting interventions. Evidence in these areas is important in evaluation of the function of mental health services in the…

Whereas some scales exist for assessing aggression in typically developing children, they do not give a detailed analysis, and none is available for populations with developmental disabilities (DD). Parents of 365 children with DD completed the Children's Scale of Hostility and Aggression: Reactive/Proactive (C-SHARP), which surveys the severity…

Objective: Using a general population sample, the adult outcomes of children who presented with severe problems with self-regulation defined as being concurrently rated highly on attention problems, aggressive behavior, and anxious-depression on the Child Behavior Checklist-Dysregulation Profile (CBCL-DP) were examined. Method: Two thousand…

This paper is concerned with findings about gender which form part of a larger ethnographic study. The study was undertaken during the author's employment as a local authority (school district) Pupil Support Officer, where the author's work involved the support of young people who had been permanently excluded (expelled) from school for a variety…