Adolescent delinquency following co-occurring childhood head injuries and conduct problem symptoms: findings from a UK longitudinal birth cohort
Adolescent delinquency following co-occurring childhood head injuries and conduct problem symptoms: findings from a UK longitudinal birth cohort
Childhood conduct problems and head injuries share a bidirectional association, but how this affects the risk of adolescent delinquency is unknown. Due to their similar underlying mechanisms (i.e. increased impulsivity), this study aims to identify whether their co-occurrence increases the risk of adolescent delinquency. Data was obtained from 11,272 children at age 14 and 10,244 at age 17 years enrolled in the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Conduct problem symptoms (via the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) and head injuries were parent reported from ages 3 to 14 years. Delinquency was self-reported at ages 14 and 17 including substance use, criminality, and antisocial behaviour. Incident rate ratios (IRR) were estimated for delinquency at ages 14 and 17 by childhood conduct problem and head injury status. Co-occurring head injuries and high conduct problem symptoms presented the greatest risk for overall delinquency and substance use at age 14 compared to those with the presence of one or neither (IRRs from 1.20 to 1.60). At age 17, conduct problems (with or without co-occurring head injuries) presented the greatest risk for overall delinquency, substance use, and antisocial behaviour. There was no evidence for an increased risk of delinquency at ages 14 or 17 following a head injury only. Whilst these findings suggest childhood head injuries alone do not increase the risk of adolescent delinquency, when co-occurring alongside high conduct problem symptoms there is a heightened earlier risk. These results provide further insight into adolescent delinquency and the outcomes of co-occurring childhood head injury and conduct problem symptoms.
adolescence, conduct problems, delinquency, developmental psychopathology, head injury, Adolescence, Head injury, Delinquency, Conduct problems, Developmental psychopathology
Carr, Hannah R.
9a1d703f-7057-49d9-af3d-a809fd319a2d
Hall, James E.
29e17a2b-dca0-4b91-be02-2ace4abaa6c4
Brandt, Valerie C.
e41f5832-70e4-407d-8a15-85b861761656
28 December 2023
Carr, Hannah R.
9a1d703f-7057-49d9-af3d-a809fd319a2d
Hall, James E.
29e17a2b-dca0-4b91-be02-2ace4abaa6c4
Brandt, Valerie C.
e41f5832-70e4-407d-8a15-85b861761656
Carr, Hannah R., Hall, James E. and Brandt, Valerie C.
(2023)
Adolescent delinquency following co-occurring childhood head injuries and conduct problem symptoms: findings from a UK longitudinal birth cohort.
European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
(doi:10.1007/s00787-023-02335-0).
Abstract
Childhood conduct problems and head injuries share a bidirectional association, but how this affects the risk of adolescent delinquency is unknown. Due to their similar underlying mechanisms (i.e. increased impulsivity), this study aims to identify whether their co-occurrence increases the risk of adolescent delinquency. Data was obtained from 11,272 children at age 14 and 10,244 at age 17 years enrolled in the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Conduct problem symptoms (via the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) and head injuries were parent reported from ages 3 to 14 years. Delinquency was self-reported at ages 14 and 17 including substance use, criminality, and antisocial behaviour. Incident rate ratios (IRR) were estimated for delinquency at ages 14 and 17 by childhood conduct problem and head injury status. Co-occurring head injuries and high conduct problem symptoms presented the greatest risk for overall delinquency and substance use at age 14 compared to those with the presence of one or neither (IRRs from 1.20 to 1.60). At age 17, conduct problems (with or without co-occurring head injuries) presented the greatest risk for overall delinquency, substance use, and antisocial behaviour. There was no evidence for an increased risk of delinquency at ages 14 or 17 following a head injury only. Whilst these findings suggest childhood head injuries alone do not increase the risk of adolescent delinquency, when co-occurring alongside high conduct problem symptoms there is a heightened earlier risk. These results provide further insight into adolescent delinquency and the outcomes of co-occurring childhood head injury and conduct problem symptoms.
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s00787-023-02335-0
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Accepted/In Press date: 28 November 2023
Published date: 28 December 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
HC was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership (Grant Number ES/P000673/1). We are grateful to the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), UCL Social Research Institute, and to the families who took part for the use of the MCS dataset and to the UK Data Service for making them available. Neither CLS nor the UK Data Service bears any responsibility for the analysis or interpretation of these data.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
Keywords:
adolescence, conduct problems, delinquency, developmental psychopathology, head injury, Adolescence, Head injury, Delinquency, Conduct problems, Developmental psychopathology
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 485494
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/485494
ISSN: 1018-8827
PURE UUID: 664e3efc-f20c-4593-bde0-1a5238037ee3
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Date deposited: 07 Dec 2023 17:37
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:03
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Author:
Hannah R. Carr
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