Early indicators of criminal lifestyle

Conduct disorders in preteens are predictive of eventual teenage behaviour.

Washington: A new study from the Universite de Montreal has suggested that conduct disorders in preteens are predictive of eventual teenage serious violent and delinquent behaviour.

Preteens who steal, destroy property, fight and bully are six times as likely to sell illicit drugs, nine times as likely to join a gang, 11 times as likely to carry a weapon and eight times as likely to be arrested as a future teenager, according to principle author, Éric Lacourse, a researcher at the Groupe de recherche sur l’inadaptation psychosociale chez l’enfant of the University. "At ages 12 and 13, the behaviors that lead to delinquency are well documented," said Lacourse. "However, intervention programs are mostly targeted to younger children and very little help is available for kids preteens," he said. The study examined three groups of 12 and 13-year-old Canadian kids over a span of two years. The group consisted of 4,125 test-subjects who were classified according to precise symptoms of conduct disorders. The findings were published in the December issue of Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. ANI