Changes in At-Risk American Men's Crime and Substance Use Trajectories Following Fatherhood

Fatherhood can be a turning point in development and in men's crime and substance use trajectories. At-risk boys (N = 206) were assessed annually from ages 12 to 31 years. Crime, arrest, and tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use trajectories were examined. Marriage was associated with lower levels of crime and less frequent substance use. Following the birth of a first biological child, men's crime trajectories showed slope decreases, and tobacco and alcohol use trajectories showed level decreases. The older men were when they became fathers, the greater the level decreases were in crime and alcohol use and the less the slope decreases were in tobacco and marijuana use. Patterns are consistent with theories of social control and social timetables.

Young men's intimate partner violence and relationship functioning: long-term outcomes associated with suicide attempt and aggression in adolescence

BACKGROUND

Longitudinal research supports that suicidal thoughts and behaviors in adolescence predict maladjustment in young adulthood. Prior research supports links between suicide attempt and aggression, perhaps because of a propensity for impulsive behavior in states of high negative affect that underlies both problems. Such vulnerability may increase risk for intimate partner violence and generally poor young adulthood relational adjustment.

METHOD

A total of 153 men participated in annual assessments from ages 10-32 years and with a romantic partner at three assessments from ages 18-25 years. Multi-method/multi-informant constructs were formed for parent/family risk factors, adolescent psychopathology (e.g. suicide-attempt history, mother-, father-, teacher- and self-reported physical aggression) and young adulthood relational distress (jealousy and low relationship satisfaction) and maladaptive relationship behavior (observed, self- and partner-reported physical and psychological aggression toward a partner, partner-reported injury, official domestic violence arrest records and relationship instability).

RESULTS

Across informants, adolescent aggression was correlated with suicide-attempt history. With few exceptions, aggression and a suicide attempt in adolescence each predicted negative romantic relationship outcomes after controlling for measured confounds. Adolescent aggression predicted young adulthood aggression toward a partner, in part, via relationship dissatisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

Boys' aggression and suicide-attempt history in adolescence each predict poor relationship outcomes, including partner violence, in young adulthood. Findings are consistent with the theory of a trait-like vulnerability, such as impulsive aggression, that undermines adaptation across multiple domains in adolescence and young adulthood. Prevention and intervention approaches can target common causes of diverse public health problems.

The Effects of Intimate Partner Violence on Relationship Satisfaction Over Time for Young At-Risk Couples: The Moderating Role of Observed Negative and Positive Affect

In the current study, the moderating effects of observed negative and positive affects on the association between intimate partner violence (IPV, physical aggression) and relationship satisfaction were examined over a 5-year period. Multiwave data were obtained from a sample of young-adult men at risk for delinquency and their women partners (n = 121 couples; ages 21-26 years). The trajectory of each partner's relationship satisfaction and the effects of dyadic IPV and affect were tested using HLM analyses and a two-level (within-couple and between-couple) dyadic growth model. Average levels of dyadic positive affect were associated with relationship satisfaction for both men and women. For men, increases in couples' positive affect over time were linked to increases in relationship satisfaction, and increases in couples' externalizing negative affect were linked to decreases in satisfaction. For women, higher levels of couple IPV predicted lower levels of satisfaction. Couples' internalizing negative affect amplified the effects of IPV on satisfaction over time. Increases in IPV were associated with declines in satisfaction for couples with high levels of internalizing negative affect. Conversely, average levels of externalizing negative affect did not amplify the association between IPV and relationship satisfaction. In fact, the adverse influence of IPV on relationship satisfaction was greater for couples who displayed low levels of externalizing affect. Because of the inverse association between externalizing affect and relationship satisfaction, these findings were interpreted to suggest that the salience of IPV was greater in couples whose relationship satisfaction was not already impaired by high levels of negative affect.

Arrests, Recent Life Circumstances, and Recurrent Job Loss for At-Risk Young Men: An Event-History Analysis

This study used longitudinal data from 202 at-risk young men to examine effects of arrests, prior risk factors, and recent life circumstances on job loss across a 7-year period in early adulthood. Repeated failure-time continuous event-history analysis indicated that occurrence of job loss was primarily related to prior mental health problems, recent arrests, recent drug use, and recent being married/cohabitation. It is argued that long-term effects of criminal justice contact on employment outcomes should be understood in the context of (shared) prior risk factors and recent life circumstances.

History of Juvenile Arrests and Vocational Career Outcomes for At-Risk Young Men

This study used longitudinal data from the Oregon Youth Study (OYS) to examine prospective effects of juvenile arrests, and of early versus late onset of juvenile offending, on two labor market outcomes by age 29/30 years. It was expected that those with more juvenile arrests and those with an early onset of offending would show poorer outcomes on both measures, controlling for propensity factors. Data were available for 203 men from the OYS, including officially recorded arrests and self-reported information on the men's work history across 9 years. Analyses revealed unexpected specificity in prospective effects: Juvenile arrests and mental health problems predicted the number of months unemployed; in contrast, being fired from work was predicted by poor child inhibitory control and adolescent substance use. Onset age of offending did not significantly predict either outcome. Implications of the findings for applied purposes and for developmental taxonomies of crime are discussed.

The intergenerational transmission of parenting: introduction to the special section

Long-standing interest in the intergenerational transmission of parenting has stimulated work focused on child maltreatment, harsh parenting, and warm-supportive rearing. In addition to documenting significant, even if modest, continuity in parenting across generations, research in this area has addressed questions of mediation and moderation. This special section extends work in this general area, with 2 studies further chronicling intergenerational transmission and 3 further illuminating mechanisms through which parenting in 1 generation is repeated in a subsequent generation. Lacking, however, is high-quality work highlighting the conditions under which parenting is not transmitted across generations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

The intergenerational transmission of parenting: closing comments for the special section

The 5 studies in this special section both confirm prior findings regarding the intergenerational transmission of parenting and provide important new evidence regarding the intergenerational transmission of positive parenting and the developmental mediators that seem involved in that transmission. Consistent with earlier research, the findings suggest that harsh parenting in the 1st generation (G1) predicts similar behavior in the 2nd generation (G2) primarily through the exacerbation of G2 conduct problems. In contrast, replicated findings in this set of articles indicate that intergenerational continuities in positive parenting likely stem from the social and academic competencies such parenting engenders in the next generation. In addition, these 5 studies demonstrate that the evidence for intergenerational continuity in parenting is robust across diverse study samples, different types of measurement, different lengths of time, and after the introduction of a variety of control variables. Important next steps in this area of inquiry should include the study of moderator variables that will explain discontinuities as well as continuities in G1 and G2 parenting. Also important will be research on genetic and epigenetic processes that contribute to similarities and dissimilarities in parenting across generations.

Growth in alcohol use in at-risk adolescent boys: two-part random effects prediction models

BACKGROUND

Alcohol use frequently onsets and shows rapid growth during the adolescent years, but few studies have examined growth in two indicators, namely in use and in volume given use, with prediction from key risk factors measured across the adolescent years.

METHODS

Based on a dynamic developmental systems framework, we predicted that the general risk pathway associated with the development of antisocial behavior (namely poor parental practices and antisocial behavior/deviant peer association) would be associated with both indicators of use in Grade 6. Specific proximal social influences, namely alcohol use by parents and peers, were also hypothesized, with growth in peer use of alcohol expected to be predictive of growth. Predictors were assessed by youth, parent, and teacher reports, with alcohol use and volume assessed yearly by youth self-reports. Models were tested separately for the 3-year middle school period and the 4-year high school period. Hypotheses were tested for the Oregon Youth Study sample of approximately 200 at-risk boys.

RESULTS

Findings indicated that alcohol use by both parents and peers were associated with initial levels of alcohol use and volume, but increases in peer use predicted growth in these indicators. Parental monitoring showed a protective effect on growth in volume in high school.

CONCLUSION

Alcohol use by members of the adolescent's social network is critical to initiation of use, and peer use is critical to growth. With these predictors specific to alcohol use in the model, none of the general risk factors for antisocial behavior were significant.

A prospective three generational study of fathers' constructive parenting: influences from family of origin, adolescent adjustment, and offspring temperament

This prospective, intergenerational study considered multiple influences on 102 fathers' constructive parenting of 181 children. Fathers in the 2nd generation (G2) were recruited as boys on the basis of neighborhood risk for delinquency and assessed through early adulthood. The fathers' parents (G1) and the G2 mothers of G3 also participated. A multiagent, multimethod approach was used to measure G1 and G2 constructive parenting (monitoring, discipline, warmth, and involvement), G2 positive adolescent adjustment, and problem behavior in all 3 generations, including G3 difficult temperament and externalizing problems in early and middle childhood, respectively. Path modeling supported direct transmission of G1 constructive parenting of G2 in late childhood to G2 constructive parenting of G3 in middle childhood. Of note, G1 parenting indirectly influenced G2 parenting through G2 positive adjustment but not through G2 adolescent antisocial behavior. G1 parenting influenced G2 parenting in both early and middle childhood of G3. G2 parenting influenced G3 problem behavior but not vice versa. Intergenerational continuities in parenting persisted, even when additional influences were considered. Transmission pathways are not limited to life-course adversity. Rather, constructive parenting is maintained, in part, by engendering positive adjustment in offspring.

Emotion dysregulation in the intergenerational transmission of romantic relationship conflict

The role of emotion dysregulation in the intergenerational transmission of romantic relationship conflict was examined using multimethod and multiagent prospective longitudinal data across 21 years for 190 men and their mothers and fathers. As predicted, an individual's emotion dysregulation was a key mediator in the transmission of relationship conflict, along with poor parenting skills. Parents' emotion dysregulation was directly related to their son's emotion dysregulation, which was in turn associated with the son's later relationship conflict. Additionally, parents' emotion dysregulation was significantly related to their poor discipline skills, which were linked to the son's emotion dysregulation and eventual relationship conflict. Findings highlight emotion dysregulation as a significant mechanism explaining the continuity of romantic relationship conflict across generations.

Longitudinal effects of conflict behaviors on depressive symptoms in young couples

This study investigated relationship dynamics contributing to gender differences in depression by testing longitudinal associations between observed conflict behaviors and depressive symptoms in young couples. Direct effects of psychological aggression, positive engagement, and withdrawal, as well as indirect effects via relationship satisfaction were considered. Participants were 68 heterosexual couples involving men from the Oregon Youth Study who remained in a stable relationship across at least 2 and up to 10 years from their early 20s to early 30s. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to test both between-couples differences in symptom trajectories predicted by partner behaviors and within-couple covariation between behaviors and depressive symptoms across 5 time points. Higher levels of women's positive engagement predicted lower symptom levels for both partners, and higher women's withdrawal predicted higher own symptom levels. Relative increases in couples' psychological aggression and decreases in positive engagement were additionally associated with increases in women's symptoms over time. Whereas between-couples behavior effects on women's symptoms were mediated by relationship satisfaction, within-couple effects proved independent of satisfaction. Implications for mechanisms of depression risk and maintenance in couples are discussed.

Use of coercive sexual tactics across 10 years in at-risk young men: developmental patterns and co-occurring problematic dating behaviors

Men's use of two coercive sexual tactics was tracked over 10 years in a sample of at-risk young men (N = 201). Patterns were identified for each tactic. For the tactic using drugs or alcohol to go further sexually, non-coercers (63%) and coercers (37%) were identified. For the tactic of going further sexually after the woman said "no," three patterns were identified-noncoercers (10%), low-level coercers who used the tactic five times or less over 10 years (42%), and high level coercers who used the tactic more than five times over 10 years (48%). The associations between coercive tactics and two dating behaviors-physical aggression toward a partner and risky sexual behaviors-were examined using multilevel linear modeling. For both coercive tactics, main effects and interaction effects with time occurred for physical aggression toward a partner. The most coercive men perpetrated the most physical aggression toward a partner between ages 18 and 22 years, but sexual coercion was unrelated to partner abuse between ages 22 and 27 years. Results suggest men vary in their use of coercive sexual tactics over time and the frequency of coercion varies based on tactic. Preliminary evidence suggests the use of coercive sexual tactics is associated with physical aggression toward a partner but not risky sexual behaviors, though the strength of the association varies over time.

Official incidents of domestic violence: types, injury, and associations with nonofficial couple aggression

Official police reports of intimate partner violence (IPV) were examined in a community sample of young, at-risk couples to determine the degree of mutuality and the relation between IPV arrests and aggression toward a partner (self-reported, partner reported, and observed). Arrests were predominantly of the men. Men were more likely to initiate physical contact, use physical force, and inflict injuries than women, although few injuries required medical attention. In the context of nonofficial aggression toward a partner, overall, women had higher levels of physical and psychological aggression compared to men, and levels of severe physical aggression did not differ by gender. Couples with an IPV arrest were more aggressive toward each other than couples with no IPV arrests; however, nonofficial levels of aggression were not higher for men than for women among couples experiencing an IPV incident.

Intergenerational transmission of internalising and externalising behaviours across three generations: gender-specific pathways

BACKGROUND

Few studies have examined gender-specific pathways in the intergenerational transmission of internalising and externalising behaviours across three generations.

AIM

The current study considered both parental figures' internalising and externalising symptoms simultaneously and tested path models of the transmission of internalising and externalising symptoms from Generation 1 (G1) to Generation 2 (G2) and from G2 to Generation 3 (G3) by focusing on gender-specific pathways.

METHOD

The study used data from the Oregon Youth Study of 206 young men and two associated studies of their intimate partners (Couples Study) and children (Three-Generational Study) over 20 years.

RESULTS

Findings indicated that, in general, mothers' internalising behaviour showed robust influence on offspring's internalising symptoms across three generations, regardless of gender of the child. G2 men's externalising behaviour was further predicted by G1 mothers' internalising as well as externalising behaviour, albeit the latter was only marginally significant. G3 girls' internalising and externalising behaviour was predicted by their fathers' corresponding behaviour. Overall, fathers' influence on their sons was limited.

CONCLUSION

The findings shed important light on potential gender-specific mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of internalising and externalising behaviour.

Men's Aggression Toward Women: A 10-Year Panel Study

The present study examined the longitudinal course of men's physical and psychological aggression toward a partner across 10 years, using a community sample of young couples (N = 194) from at-risk backgrounds. Findings indicated that men's aggression decreased over time and that women's antisocial behavior and depressive symptoms predicted changes in men's aggression. This suggests the importance of studying social processes within the dyad to have a better understanding of men's aggression toward a partner.

Suicidal ideation and its recurrence in boys and men from early adolescence to early adulthood: an event history analysis

Occurrence and recurrences of suicidal ideation (SI) were modeled among boys/men assessed annually from ages 12 to 29 years. Multiple-spell discrete-time event-history analyses permitted (a) determination of whether risk for SI escalates with prior experiences of SI (spell effects), while (b) accounting for changes in risk with time (period effects) and (c) controlling for vulnerability factors. Self-reported SI (presence/absence in past week), depressive symptoms, alcohol/substance use, antisocial behavior, and official arrest records were collected annually from 205 boys recruited on the basis of community risk for delinquency. Parents' self-reported psychopathology and SES were collected in childhood. Period effects supported decreasing risk for SI over time. Spell and time-varying 1-year lagged substance use and depressive symptoms independently predicted increased risk for SI. Models involving SI with intent were explored. Consistent with interpersonal psychological theory, risk for young men's SI increases with past experience of SI, even with key propensities controlled. However, risk also decays over time. Targeting conditions that confer risk for SI is essential. Preventing and delaying SI occurrence and recurrence may represent independent mechanisms by which prevention efforts operate.

Prevalence of suicidal ideation among boys and men assessed annually from ages 9 to 29 years

In a sample of 206 boys (90% Caucasian), self-reported suicidal ideation (SI; ages 12 to 29) and parent-reported youth suicidal talk (ages 9 to 20) were assessed annually by questionnaire. One-week point prevalence of self-reported SI ranged from 2.6% to 16.3%. New cases emerged across adolescence; by age 29, 57.3% self-reported SI at least once. SI was associated with clinically significant elevations on concurrent depressive symptoms. Nearly one quarter (24.8%) of parents reported suicidal talk by their son by age 20. Parent- and self-reports showed low correspondence. SI was more common than retrospective studies suggest. Parent-reports and one-time self-reports are likely to miss large numbers of adolescent boys who may be at risk.

Prospective effects of interparental conflict on child attachment security and the moderating role of parents' romantic attachment

This study investigated the impact of parents' observed conflict behavior on subsequent child attachment security, both as a main effect and as moderated by parents' romantic attachment. Participants were 80 heterosexual couples involving men from the Oregon Youth Study and their first-born children. The authors used hierarchical linear modeling to predict child security with each parent. Interparental psychological aggression predicted lower child security with father, regardless of romantic attachment. If the father was insecure, interparental positive engagement predicted lower child security with him. If either the mother or father was avoidant, interparental withdrawal did not predict lower child security, though it did for more secure parents. Results are discussed in terms of implications of attachment-(in)congruent behavior for parents' emotional availability.

Associations of substance use problems with intimate partner violence for at-risk men in long-term relationships

Associations of substance use problems in men--defined as a man's meeting at least 1 criterion of dependence on each of a number of substances by his mid-20s--with their perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) were examined in an at-risk community sample of 150 men in long-term relationships from their late adolescence to their late 20s. Men who had a problem with substances other than sedatives (especially cannabis and hallucinogens) committed more IPV than did men without such problems. Most of the men who had a problem with marijuana also had an alcohol problem, which explains why alcohol was found to have only an indirect association with IPV. The failure of previous alcohol-use studies to control for co-occurrence of alcohol and marijuana problems may explain the discrepancy with conclusions from past research that alcohol problems contribute directly to the perpetration of IPV.

Romantic Partners' Influence on Men's Likelihood of Arrest in Early Adulthood

Female romantic partners' influence on official crime occurrence for men across a 12-year period in early adulthood was examined within a comprehensive dynamic prediction model including both social learning and social control predictors. We hypothesized that relationship stability, rather than attachment to partner, would be associated with reduced likelihood of crime, whereas women's antisocial behavior would be a risk factor, along with deviant peer association. Models were tested on a sample of at-risk men [the Oregon Youth Study (OYS)] using zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) modeling predicting to 1) arrest persistence (class and count) and 2) arrest onset class. Findings indicated that women's antisocial behavior was predictive of both onset and persistence of arrests for men, and deviant peer association was predictive of persistence. Relationship stability was protective against persistence.

Intergenerational and partner influences on fathers' negative discipline

Recent studies have found significant but relatively modest associations in parenting across generations, suggesting additional influences on parenting beyond experiences in the family of origin. The present prospective, cross-generational study of at-risk men (Oregon Youth Study) focuses on fathers' negative discipline practices with their 2- to 3-year-old children. The theoretical model is based on a dynamic developmental systems approach to problematic family functioning, which points to the importance of developmental systems, including family risk context and key influential social interactional systems, and emphasizes influence that is directly pertinent to the outcome of interest. Path modeling indicated that the men's poor and harsh discipline practices were predicted by partners' problem behavior (substance use and antisocial behavior) and negative discipline practices, as well as by poor discipline experienced in the family of origin; men's own problem behavior, ages at which they became fathers, and family socioeconomic status were controlled. Findings indicate the importance of focusing on influence dynamics across parents.

Interaction and relationship development in stable young couples: effects of positive engagement, psychological aggression, and withdrawal

This study tested associations among observed interaction patterns and relationship satisfaction in a subsample of young at-risk couples (n=47) from the Oregon Youth Study who remained stable over 7 years; each partner's positive engagement, psychological aggression, and withdrawal within a particular conflict structure (his vs. her topic) was used to predict satisfaction over time using multilevel growth curve modeling. Women's positive engagement during both topics predicted higher satisfaction for both partners at within-couple and between-couple levels. Women's psychological aggression showed topic-specific associations with lower satisfaction for each partner, and increases in both men's and women's psychological aggression during their partner's topic related to lower satisfaction over time for women. Both partners' withdrawal during men's topics predicted less decline in satisfaction for men.

Substance use risk across three generations: the roles of parent discipline practices and inhibitory control

This study used 3 generations and 21 years of prospective data to test models of intergenerational transmission of substance use and substance use risk. Thus, the study extends prior studies in the field that have focused predominantly on substance abuse. The association between the grandparental generation's (G1 mother and father) and the parental generation's (G2 father) alcohol use and illicit drug use was hypothesized to be mediated by G2's poor inhibitory control. Additionally, G1's poor discipline of G2 was hypothesized to be directly associated with G2's substance use as well as to partially mediate the association between G1's substance use and G2's inhibitory control. In turn, G2's substance use in late adolescence was expected to be associated with its offspring's (G3) poor inhibitory control at age 3 years. Findings partially supported the predictions and varied by substance. For alcohol use, only cross-generational associations in use were found. For illicit drugs, both poor inhibitory control and poor discipline played some mediational role in cross-generational use.

Arrest Trajectories Across a 17-Year Span for Young Men: Relation to Dual Taxonomies and Self-Reported Offense Trajectories

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of different operationalizations of offending behavior on the identified trajectories of offending, and to relate findings to hypothesized dual taxonomy models. Prior research with 203 young men from the Oregon Youth Study identified six offender pathways, based on self-report data (Wiesner and Capaldi, 2003). The present study used official records data (number of arrests) for the same sample. Semiparametric group-based modeling indicated three distinctive arrest trajectories: high-level chronics, low-level chronics, and rare offenders. Both chronic arrest trajectory groups were characterized by relatively equal rates of early onset offenders, thus indicating some divergence from hypothesized dual taxonomies. Overall, this study demonstrated limited convergence of trajectory findings across official records versus self-report measures of offending behavior.

Typological approaches to violence in couples: a critique and alternative conceptual approach

Typological approaches have become highly influential in the research on violence in couples, and yet issues related to such approaches have not been well addressed. We review the utility of batterer typologies, both for clinical applications and for understanding violence in couples. The principal types of batterer typologies are discussed, along with a number of issues that might limit their utility for explaining the etiology and developmental course of partner violence in couples. We propose a dyadic model of couples' aggression, and we explain ways that such a model provides better conceptualization of the development of the couples' violence over time, including issues of persistence and desistance of violence, and that can help inform prevention and treatment.

Observed Initiation and Reciprocity of Physical Aggression in Young, At-Risk Couples

The present study examined sex differences in initiation of physical aggression as observed during discussion tasks and in the likelihood of a similar response from the partner. In addition, patterns for men and women in the prevalence of aggression initiation and partner reciprocation across 4 time points spanning approximately 9 years from late adolescence through the mid-20s are examined, as well as overall associations with reported aggression and injuries. Findings indicated that the young women were more likely than the men to initiate physical aggression at late adolescence, but by the mid-20s in early adulthood there were no significant sex differences in initiation rates. The average rates of reciprocation across the 4 time points appeared to be similar for men and women. Women and men appeared more likely to report injuries if the couples observed physical aggression involved mutual aggression in their interactions.

Generalizability of Gottman and Colleagues' Affective Process Models of Couples' Relationship Outcomes

The generalizability of Gottman et al's. (1998) affective process models was examined using a community-based sample of 85 married or cohabiting couples with at-risk backgrounds. Predictive associations between affective processes assessed at about age 21 years and relationship status and satisfaction approximately 2.5 years later were examined. The major findings of Gottman et al. failed to replicate. In particular, men's rejection of their partners' influence, the lack of men's deescalation of partners' negative affect, and women's negative start up were not predictive of relationship status. Further, differences in affective processes were found when comparing discussion sessions of the men's versus the women's chosen topics. The findings suggested that the validity and utility of the affective process models need further investigation.

Relationship separation for young, at-risk couples: prediction from dyadic aggression

Dyadic physical aggression in the relationships of 158 young, at-risk couples was examined as a predictor of relationship separation over the course of 6 years. A high prevalence of physical aggression and a high rate of separation were found, with 80% of couples engaging in physical aggression (as reported by either partner or as observed) and 62% separating over time. As predicted, physical aggression significantly increased the likelihood of relationship dissolution, even after accounting for psychological aggression, prior relationship satisfaction, and relationship contextual factors (length of relationship, relationship type, and children in the household). Of the contextual factors, relationship type was predictive of relationship dissolution: Married couples were least likely to dissolve their relationships compared with cohabiting and dating couples.

The course of depressive symptoms in men from early adolescence to young adulthood: identifying latent trajectories and early predictors

Heterogeneity in the longitudinal course of depressive symptoms was studied through the use of general growth mixture modeling for young men in the Oregon Youth Study (N=206), who ranged in age from 15 to 24 years. Four trajectory classes were identified: the very-low, the moderate-decreasing, the high-decreasing, and the high-persistent classes. The 3 lowest classes differed primarily quantitatively with the initial level or mean level across time being the major determinant of class differences, whereas the high-persistent class appeared qualitatively different in terms of long-term developmental trends and variation. Findings from univariate and multivariate analyses revealed specific effects of childhood, parental, contextual, and individual risk factors on the class membership as well as on the growth within each trajectory class.

The Timing of Entry Into Fatherhood in Young, At-Risk Men

Timing of first fatherhood was examined in a sample of 206 at-risk, predominantly White men, followed prospectively for 17 years. An event history analysis was used to test a model wherein antisocial behavior, the contextual and familial factors that may contribute to the development of antisocial behavior, and common correlates of such behavior, including academic failure, substance use, and early initiation of sexual behaviors, lead both directly and indirectly to an early transition to fatherhood. Having a mother who was younger at first birth, low family SES, poor academic skills, failure to use condoms, and being in a cohabitating or marital relationship predicted entry into fatherhood. Implications of the findings for prevention of and intervention with early fathering are discussed.

Developmental trajectories of offending: validation and prediction to young adult alcohol use, drug use, and depressive symptoms

This longitudinal study extended previous work of Wiesner and Capaldi by examining the validity of differing offending pathways and the prediction from the pathways to substance use and depressive symptoms for 204 young men. Findings from this study indicated good external validity of the offending trajectories. Further, substance use and depressive symptoms in young adulthood (i.e., ages 23-24 through 25-26 years) varied depending on different trajectories of offending from early adolescence to young adulthood (i.e., ages 12-13 through 23-24 years), even after controlling for antisocial propensity, parental criminality, demographic factors, and prior levels of each outcome. Specifically, chronic high-level offenders had higher levels of depressive symptoms and engaged more often in drug use compared with very rare, decreasing low-level, and decreasing high-level offenders. Chronic low-level offenders, in contrast, displayed fewer systematic differences compared with the two decreasing offender groups and the chronic high-level offenders. The findings supported the contention that varying courses of offending may have plausible causal effects on young adult outcomes beyond the effects of an underlying propensity for crime.

The association of antisocial behavior and depressive symptoms between partners and risk for aggression in romantic relationships

This study examined the extent to which antisocial behavior and depressive symptoms were associated between romantic partners and whether the partner's antisocial behavior and depressive symptoms affected the individual's aggression toward the partner above and beyond the contribution of his or her own symptoms. Questions were examined concurrently and longitudinally for 79 couples from a young, at-risk sample. There were reliable associations between partners' antisocial behavior and depressive symptoms. Women's antisocial behavior and depressive symptoms were significantly related to concurrent levels of men's physical and psychological aggression. Women's depressive symptoms remained significant in predicting men's psychological aggression over time. Overall, men's risk factors had little effect on their partners' aggression. Findings suggest that interventions to reduce partner violence need to consider the potential influence of partner, as well as perpetrator characteristics.

Depressive symptoms across adolescence and young adulthood in men: predictions from parental and contextual risk factors

The current study examined the course of depressive symptoms of young men from early adolescence through young adulthood using a growth model approach and the influence of early parental (i.e.,depressive symptoms, antisocial behaviors, substance use) and contextual (i.e., family income and parental marital transitions) risk factors on both the level of depressive symptoms in early adolescence and on changes over a 10-year period, controlling for young men's early antisocial behavior. On average, depressive symptoms of the youths tended to decrease slightly as they reached young adulthood. Among the parental and contextual risk factors, parent's marital transitions was the most significant predictor for the level of depressive symptoms in early adolescence. Parent's marital transitions and family income were also significantly related to changes in depressive symptoms. As hypothesized, there was a significant interaction effect of paternal and maternal depressive symptoms on depressive symptoms in early adolescence and on changes over time. Maternal depressive symptoms were related to the son's depressive symptoms only when the father's depressive symptoms were also high. The results also suggested that parenting practices did not mediate the effects of the parental and contextual risk factors on the development of depressive symptoms among young men.

The role of adolescent friends, romantic partners, and siblings in the emergence of the adult antisocial lifestyle

This study investigated the contribution of social processes in boys' adolescent relationships in 3 key domains--same-sex friends, cross-sex romantic partners, and younger siblings--to continued association with delinquent peers in young adulthood and, therefore, to continuance of an antisocial lifestyle. It was hypothesized that levels of negative interaction and antisocial talk observed during problem-solving discussions would be associated across the 3 domains. The influences of negative interactions and antisocial talk in the adolescent relationships on young-adult delinquent peer association were compared in 2 mediational models. It was posited that antisocial talk would be more predictive of continued association with delinquent peers than would negative interactions. Hypotheses were tested on an at-risk sample of young men (the Oregon Youth Study). Findings were generally in keeping with the hypotheses.

Introduction to special section on three-generation studies

Interest in lifespan research and cross-generational associations in parenting practices and child behaviors has grown rapidly in recent years. The four papers presented in this journal test three key intergenerational research questions regarding intergenerational continuities for externalizing behaviors, using different 3-generational samples.

Continuity of parenting practices across generations in an at-risk sample: a prospective comparison of direct and mediated associations

A prospective model of parenting and externalizing behavior spanning 3 generations (G1, G2, and G3) was examined for young men from an at-risk sample of young adult men (G2) who were in approximately the youngest one third of their cohort to become fathers. It was first predicted that the young men in G2 who had children the earliest would show high levels of antisocial behavior. Second, it was predicted that G1 poor parenting practices would show both a direct association with the G2 son's subsequent parenting and a mediated effect via his development of antisocial and delinquent behavior by adolescence. The young fathers had more arrests and were less likely to have graduated from high school than the other young men in the sample. Findings were most consistent with the interpretation that there was some direct effect of parenting from G1 to G2 and some mediated effect via antisocial behavior in G2.

Heterosexual risk behaviors in at-risk young men from early adolescence to young adulthood: prevalence, prediction, and association with STD contraction

Health-compromising lifestyles involve stable patterns of behavior and are associated with high-risk social environments and accelerated developmental trajectories. Developmentally, antisocial behavior is associated with such lifestyles. Mediational models predicting a measure of lifetime average sexual risk behavior assessed over a 10-year period (from ages 13-14 to 22-23 years) were examined for a sample of at-risk young men. The measure included years of abstinence from intercourse as well as levels of 3 key heterosexual indicators of risk: frequency of intercourse, number of intercourse partners, and condom use. Predictors included lifetime average measures of contextual, family, and peer process variables and individual behaviors. In addition, similar models for prediction of STD contraction were assessed. A younger age of onset of intercourse was associated with higher numbers of intercourse partners after onset. As hypothesized, findings indicated mediational associations of socioeconomic status, parental monitoring, deviant-peer association, antisocial behavior, and substance use in the prediction of sexual risk behavior. Lower condom use also predicted STD contraction.

Heterosexual risk behaviors in at-risk young men from early adolescence to young adulthood: prevalence, prediction, and association with STD contraction

Health-compromising lifestyles involve stable patterns of behavior and are associated with high-risk social environments and accelerated developmental trajectories. Developmentally, antisocial behavior is associated with such lifestyles. Mediational models predicting a measure of lifetime average sexual risk behavior assessed over a 10-year period (from ages 13-14 to 22-23 years) were examined for a sample of at-risk young men. The measure included years of abstinence from intercourse as well as levels of 3 key heterosexual indicators of risk: frequency of intercourse, number of intercourse partners, and condom use. Predictors included lifetime average measures of contextual, family, and peer process variables and individual behaviors. In addition, similar models for prediction of STD contraction were assessed. A younger age of onset of intercourse was associated with higher numbers of intercourse partners after onset. As hypothesized, findings indicated mediational associations of socioeconomic status, parental monitoring, deviant-peer association, antisocial behavior, and substance use in the prediction of sexual risk behavior. Lower condom use also predicted STD contraction.

Intergenerational transmission of abuse: a two-generational prospective study of an at-risk sample

OBJECTIVE

A model was examined in which the association between a parent's history of abuse and the parent's own abusive behavior toward his or her children was hypothesized to be mediated by parental psychopathology, early childbearing, and consistency of discipline. Additionally, the effect of severity of abuse on the likelihood of becoming abusive was examined.

METHOD

Participants were 109 parents (G1) and their male children (G2) who were involved in a longitudinal study. The G1 parents reported on their own experiences of abuse when they were children. Ten years later, the G2 youths reported on the G1 parents' abusive behavior toward them. A number of other factors, including parental socioeconomic status (SES), antisocial behavior, depression and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), consistency of discipline, and the perceived early difficulty of the G2 children were measured.

RESULTS

As reported by their own children, parents who reported having been abused in childhood were significantly more likely to engage in abusive behaviors toward the next generation. Findings indicated that abuse experienced by the parents, as well as consistency of discipline and depression plus PTSD, were predictive of parental abuse of the child. Contrary to hypotheses, the effects were not fully mediated. However, there were significant interactions between parental history of abuse and consistency of discipline, as well as abuse history and depression and PTSD. Parents who had experienced multiple acts of abuse and at least one physical impact were more likely to become abusive than were the other parents.

CONCLUSIONS

The implications of these findings for preventive interventions are discussed.

Physical aggression in a community sample of at-risk young couples: gender comparisons for high frequency, injury, and fear

The associations of frequent physical aggression, injury, and fear were examined for a community-based sample of at-risk young couples who were dating, cohabiting, or married. It was hypothesized that frequent physical aggression toward a partner, in the range of shelter samples, is largely caused by antisocial behavior and mutual couple conflict and, thus, that there would be greater similarity across genders in such behavior than has previously been supposed. It was also predicted that levels of injury and fear would be higher in women but that some men would experience these impacts. Findings indicated similarity across genders both in the prevalence of frequent aggression and in its association with antisocial behavior. Furthermore, such aggression was likely to be bidirectional in couples. Contrary to the hypothesis of the study, rates of injury and fear for the women were not significantly higher than for the men.

Aggression toward female partners by at-risk young men: the contribution of male adolescent friendships

Deviancy training was examined as a risk factor for physical and psychological aggression toward a female partner among boys and young men in the Oregon Youth Study. Hostile talk about women during videotaped male friendship interactions was hypothesized to indicate a process by which aggression toward women is reinforced within male peer networks. Both antisocial behavior and hostile talk were predicted to be associated with later aggression toward a female partner. Prospective developmental models were tested from 9-10 years of age through young adulthood. Findings indicated that the relation of deviant peer association in adolescence and later aggression toward a partner was mediated by antisocial behavior; observed hostile talk about women with male peers explained additional variance in aggression toward a partner.

Co-occurrence of conduct problems and depressive symptoms in early adolescent boys: III. Prediction to young-adult adjustment

The prediction of young-adult adjustment from early adolescent conduct problems and depressive symptoms was examined for an at-risk sample of approximately 200 males. Conduct problems and depressive symptoms were expected to show stability to young adulthood. It was predicted that early adolescent conduct problems would be associated with a broad range of adjustment problems in young adulthood due to cumulative adjustment failures. Early adolescent depressive symptoms were expected particularly to predict poor relationships with parents and peers. Additive and interactive effects of the two predictors were examined. Conduct problems and depressive symptoms showed significant stability to young adulthood. Conduct problems were associated with a broad range of adjustment problems including continuing problems in peer associations, substance use, self-esteem, relationships with parents, and new problems in noncompletion of education, unemployment, driver's license suspensions, and causing pregnancies. Depressive symptoms predicted particularly to problems in social relationships. Higher levels of both conduct problems and depressive symptoms in early adolescence did not predict to increased difficulties for any one outcome over either problem alone, either due to main or interaction effects. Such co-occurrence, however, did result in problem outcomes in multiple areas, thus, the poorest adjustment overall.

Becoming an adolescent father: precursors and parenting

Precursors and outcomes of adolescent pregnancy receive considerable research attention; however, most studies deal with adolescent mothers. This study examined whether risk factors that are precursors to adolescent fatherhood would be consistent with the family coercion model (G. R. Patterson, 1976) of the development of antisocial behavior in childhood. Hypotheses were tested in the Oregon Youth Study (OYS) sample of 206 at-risk boys who were first seen at 9 or 10 years of age. At 18-20 years of age, the profiles for the 35 adolescent fathers included more arrests and substance use than the other OYS participants. At around 2 years of age, 40% of the children had no contact with their fathers. The children, compared with a normative control sample, had somewhat greater health risks. The at-risk parents, compared with a control sample, were observed to show higher levels of negative reactions when their children were working on a puzzle task.

Prospective family predictors of aggression toward female partners for at-risk young men

Social learning models of the intergenerational transmission of aggression were tested for an at-risk sample of young adult men who entered a longitudinal study (Oregon Youth Study) in Grade 4 and were assessed with a female partner in young adulthood (17-20 years old). The associations of 2 family process variables--parental dyadic aggression and unskilled parenting, assessed both in late childhood and early adolescence with the son's later aggression toward a partner--were examined. Parental antisocial behavior was hypothesized to be associated with both family process variables. Unskilled parenting was hypothesized to play a key role in the son's later aggression toward an intimate partner, mediated by his development of antisocial behavior by adolescence. Fully prospective structural equation models were tested with multimethod, multiagent data, including both observed and reported aggression toward the partner. Findings indicate that the major hypothesized pathways through unskilled parenting practices and the boys' antisocial behavior were implicated in the intergenerational transmission of aggression.