The research to be undertaken as part of this postdoctoral fellowship involves a cross-national comparison of the development of antisocial and criminal behavior across four longitudinal data sets. Research samples include the Individual Development and Adaptation study and the Young Lawbreakers as Adults study at Stockholm University, Sweden, The Solna Project at Orebro University, Sweden, and the Carolina Longitudinal Study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the United States. Each study has tracked the lives of participants from childhood through adulthood, and each study maintains a rich data source on antisocial and criminal behavior. The major objectives of the proposed study are: (1) to describe the developmental antecedents of adult antisocial and criminal behavior during childhood and adolescence using a person-oriented approach to analysis; (2) to clarify gender-related differences in antecedents and pathways toward antisocial and criminal outcomes; (3) to assess the role of participation in extracurricular activities as a possible moderator of antisocial patterns among high-risk youth; and (4) to determine the extent to which cross-national generalizations may be drawn on risk and resilience factors. First, developmental antecedents to subsequent deviance and criminality will be evaluated from a person-oriented, holistic perspective that focuses on the ways in which biological, psycho-social, and contextual factors work in tandem to support behavioral outcomes across development. Second, potential gender differences will be explored with particular interest in the role of maturational timing an non-physical aggression in the development of female antisocial patterns. Third, developmental turning points that may modify the likelihood of antisocial patterns and criminality among high risk youth will be assessed. The turning points include patterns of educational attainment and engagement in extracurricular activities during adolescence. Finally, the availability of comparable data sets from research sites in different countries during the same temporal period will permit the detailed analysis of cross-national similarities and differences in factors of risk and resilience.
| Mahoney, J L; Magnusson, D (2001) Parent participation in community activities and the persistence of criminality. Dev Psychopathol 13:125-41 |
| Mahoney, J L (2000) School extracurricular activity participation as a moderator in the development of antisocial patterns. Child Dev 71:502-16 |
| Mahoney, J L; Stattin, H (2000) Leisure activities and adolescent antisocial behavior: the role of structure and social context. J Adolesc 23:113-27 |
