Abstract

RISK FACTORS IN THE CONTINUATION OF CHILDHOOD ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR INTO ADULTHOOD LEE NELKEN ROBINS and KATHRYN STROTHER RATCLIFF Antisocial patterns of behavior typically begin early in life, usually before age 10 and sometimes in the preschool years. They are characterized by resistance to parental and educational authority, stealing, lying, fighting, and school achievement less than that pre­ dicted by IQo Behaviors ordinarily reserved for late adolescence or adulthood occur precociously, particular ly drinking, use of illicit drugs, sexual intercourse, and leaving home and school. In adoles­ cence, such behaviors often lead to difficulty with the law, and thus the antisocial child becomes a juvenile delinquent. These patterns of behavior occur disproportionately, although not exclusively, in males reared in homes disadvantaged by poverty and negligent par­ ents who themselves have a history of antisocial behavior 0 Sibships are often unusually large or unusually small (the latter sometimes because the antisocial child is illegitimate), and homes are often broken by parents' marital problems or failure to marry at all. Antisocial behavior arising in childhood presents a remarkably stable and ominous picture for the future (Clarizio, 1968; Glueck & Glueck, 1968; Robins, 1966; Rutter, Tizard, Yule, Graham, & Whit- The authors are