Low socioeconomic position (SEP) in childhood is associated with antisocial outcomes in adolescence, yet this relationship appears to be changing over time. Investigating these changes requires consistent data from different cohorts, which is frequently unavailable. However, retrospective harmonization allows data to be modified so they are directly comparable, and we used this approach to study the changing relationship between SEP and antisocial outcomes across three UK birth cohorts. This study used harmonized adolescent antisocial outcomes including self-reported offending, school exclusion, truancy, policy contact, and victimization from cohorts born in 1970 (BCS70), the 1990s (ALSPAC), and the 2000s (MCS). Regression models predicting antisocial outcomes from SEP latent classes and sociodemographic covariates were estimated. The most disadvantaged SEP latent class was associated with school exclusion and truancy in the BCS70 and MCS. The disadvantaged class was also significantly associated with robbery in the BCS70, and police contact in the MCS. In the ALSPAC, victimization was the only outcome associated with the disadvantaged class. Self-reported offending behaviours were not strongly related to SEP; however, school exclusions and truancy were related to disadvantage in both the BCS70 and MCS. Although there were qualitative differences in the relationships observed across cohorts, it appears that the strength of the association between SEP and antisocial outcomes may be stronger in the BCS70 and MCS.
Wikström and colleagues’ (2024) Developmental Ecological Action Model of Situational Action Theory provides a framework for understanding drivers of macro- or micro- level changes in offending behaviour, with offending propensity and criminogenic exposure proposed as two key drivers of change in crime involvement across time. This study examined the role of offending propensity and criminogenic exposure as potential drivers of recent increases in high frequency youth offending behaviour in Australia. The dataset comprisedlongitudinal youth justice data capturing risk assessments, proven offences, and custody periods for 12 consecutive adolescent birth cohorts, born between 1995 and 2006. YLS-CMI risk assessment data were used to measure offending propensity and criminogenic exposure. A balanced panel design, using annual observations from ages 14 to 16, generated 7,417 person observations, and 22,251 person-year observations. Random effects panel regression models were used to assess changes in offending propensity, criminogenic exposure and high frequency youth offending across birth cohorts. Results indicated that offending propensity and criminogenic exposure had increased significantly in recent birth cohorts of justice-involved adolescents, as had the odds of high frequency offending. However, growth in criminogenic exposure, and increases in the strength of its impact across birth cohorts, provided the strongest explanation for growth in high frequency youth offending in recent years. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
The Talk is commonly understood as a protective racial socialization strategy through which Black parents prepare their children for encounters with police. Using a grounded theory approach, this study examines not only how parents deliver The Talk, but why some intentionally refrain from it. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 30 Black parents in Ferguson, Missouri, conducted during the 2014 protests following the death of Michael Brown, we explore parental decision-making in a context of heightened racial tension and collective activism. Guided by an ecological and developmental framework, we analyze how parents assess risk, emotional readiness, and protection when socializing their children around policing. Findings reveal that parents who engaged in The Talk emphasized compliance strategies, constitutional rights, and avoidance as protective mechanisms. In contrast, parents who did not provide The Talk described intentional restraint, prioritizing respect for authority and concerns about instilling fear. Racial socialization strategies varied across families, with gender emerging as a particularly salient factor, as sons received more frequent and distinct messages. Together, these findings challenge assumptions that the absence of The Talk reflects parental inaction, instead highlighting both the presence and absence of The Talk as strategic approaches to protecting Black youth. Implications extend to Black parenting practices, parenting programs, and clinical interventions
To assess whether the relationship between antisocial cognition and delinquent behavior is bidirectional, a series of cross-lagged correlations were calculated on 1,621 adolescents (748 boys, 873 girls) from the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) study. Creating four cross-lags with five waves of data and analyzing the within-person effects using a random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) revealed that antisocial cognition predicted a change in delinquent behavior and delinquent behavior predicted a change in antisocial cognition over the course of a year in eight out of eight instances. Further analysis revealed that while the results were reasonably stable over time, the antisocial cognition → delinquent behavior cross-lag correlation was significantly stronger than the delinquent behavior → antisocial cognition cross-lag correlation in all four comparisons. These results suggest that antisocial cognition and delinquent behavior are reciprocally related such that an increase in one can lead to an increase in the other.
Research on larger-scale drug crime—here termed serious drug crime (SDC)—has largely been qualitative, male-focused, and narrowly centered on drug offenses rather than on how drug distribution involvement unfolds within broader criminal careers. Consequently, little is known about the broader criminal career patterns of the significant minority of SDC offenders who are women. To address this gap, this study is the first to use large-scale register data—comprising 861 women and 9,763 men convicted of SDC in Denmark—to examine within-women and between-gender differences in the criminal career characteristics and trajectories of SDC offenders. Results show that the average overall criminal career of SDC-involved women starts later, is shorter and less diverse, and consists of fewer convictions compared to men, although the age of SDC onset is similar between genders. Additionally, through group-based trajectory modelling, we identify four trajectories among the women and find that these trajectories differ substantially in their criminal career characteristics, indicating that women involved in SDC are a heterogeneous population. At the same time, we observe great overlaps in the shape and timing of trajectories between genders. We discuss possible explanations for these patterns and suggest pathways for future research on gender and SDC.
