Predicting serious delinquency and substance use among aggressive boys

Abstract

Early aggressive behavior puts boys at increased risk for involvement in a variety of later problem behaviors, including delinquency and drug abuse. However, not all boys who evidence aggressive behavior in childhood continue to engage in problem behaviors in adolescence. This 3.5-year prospective study examined the role of factors hypothesized by the social development model to inhibit or increase the likelihood of subsequent involvement in serious delinquency and substance use within a sample of boys identified as aggressive by teacher report at ages 10 and 11. At ages 12 and 13, a combination of the constructs of skills for prosocial involvement, school bonding and achievement, family bonding and management practices, norms against substance use, and interaction with peers and adults involved in antisocial behavior significantly discriminated between boys who were and were not involved in serious delinquent behavior and substance use at ages 13 and 14, although family bonding and management practices appeared to contribute little to the discriminant function. Implications of the results for preventive interventions with aggressive boys are discussed.