Starr J Solomon1, Jukka Savolainen2, W Alex Mason3, Jouko Miettunen4, Stacy-Ann A January5, Marjo-Riitta Järvelin6. 1. School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Nebraska-Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, 218 CPACS, Omaha, NE 68182, USA. 2. Institute for Social Research, ICPSR, University of Michigan, P.O. Box 1248, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, USA. 3. Boys Town National Research Institute for Child and Family Studies, 14100 Crawford Street, Boys Town, NE 68010, USA. 4. Center for Life Course Health Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5000, Fin-90014, Oulu, Finland; Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, Unit for Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland. 5. University of South Carolina, Department of Psychology, 1512 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA. 6. Center for Life Course Health Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5000, Fin-90014, Oulu, Finland; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, MRC PHE Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College, One Kemble Street, London WC2B 4AN, UK; Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Unit of Primary Care, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Early exposure to multiple risk factors is known to predict involvement in criminal offending. The purpose of this study was to examine the processes responsible for this association. Specifically, the focus was on the capacity of adolescent educational experience to mediate the effect of childhood cumulative risk (CCR) on criminal offending, net of expected continuity in antisocial propensity and behavior. METHODS: Data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort Study 1986 (n = 5,743) were used to estimate a structural equation model to examine the hypothesized pathways. The educational pathway was captured by a latent variable (educational marginalization) consisting of indicators of low academic performance, weak school attachment, and low educational aspirations. RESULTS: CCR had a strong positive relation with educational marginalization, which, in turn, emerged as a statistically significant predictor of having criminal record by age 19. Although continuity in antisocial behavior accounted for most of the total effect of CCR on criminal offending, one third of it was mediated by educational marginalization. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the adolescent educational experience as a promising target of intervention in efforts to curb criminal careers among children at risk.
PURPOSE: Early exposure to multiple risk factors is known to predict involvement in criminal offending. The purpose of this study was to examine the processes responsible for this association. Specifically, the focus was on the capacity of adolescent educational experience to mediate the effect of childhood cumulative risk (CCR) on criminal offending, net of expected continuity in antisocial propensity and behavior. METHODS: Data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort Study 1986 (n = 5,743) were used to estimate a structural equation model to examine the hypothesized pathways. The educational pathway was captured by a latent variable (educational marginalization) consisting of indicators of low academic performance, weak school attachment, and low educational aspirations. RESULTS: CCR had a strong positive relation with educational marginalization, which, in turn, emerged as a statistically significant predictor of having criminal record by age 19. Although continuity in antisocial behavior accounted for most of the total effect of CCR on criminal offending, one third of it was mediated by educational marginalization. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the adolescent educational experience as a promising target of intervention in efforts to curb criminal careers among children at risk.
Entities:
Keywords:
Cumulative risk; Finland; criminal offending; school effects
Authors: Tuula Hurtig; Hanna Ebeling; Anja Taanila; Jouko Miettunen; Susan L Smalley; James J McGough; Sandra K Loo; Marjo-Riitta Järvelin; Irma K Moilanen Journal: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2007-12 Impact factor: 8.829
Authors: W Alex Mason; Stacy-Ann A January; Mary B Chmelka; Gilbert R Parra; Jukka Savolainen; Jouko Miettunen; Marjo-Riitta Järvelin; Anja Taanila; Irma Moilanen Journal: Addict Behav Date: 2016-02-17 Impact factor: 3.913