Pants on fire: Risks for and outcomes of atypical lying.

Introduction: Most people are generally honest, but around 5% of individuals are prolific liars, some of whom lie for fun or no reason. However, developmental research on atypical lying features (e.g.

Unveiling hidden dimensions: A novel bifactor approach to unraveling adverse childhood experiences.

Background: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are associated with diverse negative health outcomes and are commonly screened for in primary care, research, and clinical practice. However, more research is needed surrounding the conceptualization, measurement, and application of ACEs measures.

Objective: This study examines the bifactor structure and internal reliability of a short, practical, and commonly used ACEs questionnaire and assesses how the factor structure is associated with correlates of ACEs.

Exposure to violence predicts callous-unemotional traits and aggression in adolescence in the context of persistent ethnic-political conflict and violence.

According to social-cognitive ecological theory, violence exposure increases emotional factors-such as callous-unemotional (CU) traits-which then contribute to engagement in aggressive behavior. However, previous research has generally not tested this mediational pathway, particularly in the context of persistent ethnic-political violence exposure. The present study examined associations among violence exposure, CU traits, and aggression in a sample of 1051 youth in the Middle East (Palestine and Israel), using youth- and parent-reported data in a cohort-sequential design with three age cohorts (starting ages 8, 11, and 14 years) assessed over four waves spanning 6 years.

Developmental Changes in the Relation between Youth Disclosure and Parenting Behavior: A Cohort-sequential Analysis.

To address a gap in the literature regarding the development of youth disclosure across the transition to adolescence, the current research uses a cohort-sequential approach to study youth disclosure from middle childhood through adolescence. Longitudinal data from three cohorts of parents were utilized (N = 1359; children at T1 were in grades 2 [M = 8.00 years, SD = 0.

Within-Person Bidirectional Associations Over Time Between Parenting and Youths' Callousness.

Objective: Callousness has been identified as a key driver of aggressive and violent behavior from childhood into early adulthood. Although previous research has underscored the importance of the parenting environment in contributing to the development of youth callousness, findings have generally been confined to the between-individual level and have not examined bidirectionality. In the current study, we test whether aspects of parenting are associated with callousness from childhood to adolescence both between and within individuals, examine the temporal ordering of associations, and test whether these relations are moderated by gender or developmental stage.

Drug Dealing and Gun Carrying go Hand in Hand: Examining How Juvenile Offenders' Gun Carrying Changes Before and After Drug Dealing Spells across 84 Months.

Objectives: This study aims to examine whether periods of marijuana and other illicit drug dealing ("spells" of dealing) are associated with changes in young male offenders' gun carrying behavior.

Methods: This paper uses 84 months of data from a sample of 479 serious juvenile male offenders who were assessed every six months for three years and then annually for four years. At each assessment, participants reported on engagement in illicit behaviors, including drug dealing and gun carrying, in each month since the prior interview.

Risk and Protective Factors for Gun Violence in Male Juvenile Offenders.

Objective: To examine several risk and protective factors as predictors of future gun violence among male juvenile offenders.

Method: Data came from a longitudinal cohort of 1,170 male juvenile offenders (42.1% Black; 34.

Cannabis Concentrate Use in Adolescents.

Background: Cannabis concentrates, which are cannabis plant extracts that contain high concentrations of Δ-9-tetrahydrocannbinol (THC), have become increasingly popular among adults in the United States. However, no studies have reported on the prevalence or correlates of cannabis concentrate use in adolescents, who, as a group, are thought to be particularly vulnerable to the harms of THC.

Methods: Participants are a racially and ethnically diverse group of 47 142 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students recruited from 245 schools across Arizona in 2018.

The Direct and Indirect Associations between Childhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Adolescent Gun Violence.

We examined whether childhood socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with adolescent gun violence and whether early symptoms of conduct disorder and/or exposure to delinquent peers accounted for the linkage. Participants were 503 predominately Black and White boys who were recruited in 1st grade from Pittsburgh public schools. Multi-informant assessments were conducted regularly from approximately ages 7 to 20.

The impact of childhood maltreatment on adolescent gang involvement.

Background: A number of risk factors for gang involvement have been identified in the literature, such as victimization, poor parental monitoring, aggressive behavior, and affiliation with delinquent peers. However, few studies have examined the influence of maltreatment experiences during childhood on gang involvement later in adolescence.

Objective: This study examines how differential experiences of maltreatment might impact future gang involvement.

Developmental trajectories of interpersonal callousness from childhood to adolescence as predictors of antisocial behavior and psychopathic features in young adulthood.

Although previous research has established a link between early interpersonal callousness (IC) from childhood to adolescence and later antisocial behavior and psychopathic features, the majority of these studies assess more proximal outcomes (e.g., assessed in adolescence).

Parental Disengagement in Childhood and Adolescent Male Gun Carrying.

Objectives: To examine the association between parental disengagement in childhood and adolescent gun carrying and determine whether this association is accounted for by externalizing problems and affiliation with delinquent peers during early adolescence.

Methods: The sample included 503 boys (55.7% African American, 40.

Distinguishing between-individual from within-individual predictors of gun carrying among Black and White males across adolescence.

Longitudinal studies have found that male adolescents who deal drugs, associate with delinquent peers, and engage in aggressive behavior are at increased risk for carrying a gun (between-individual risks). However, it is unclear whether changes in these risk factors help to explain fluctuations in youth gun carrying across adolescence (within-individual risks). The current study examined this issue using a community sample of 970 adolescent males (58% Black, 42% White) assessed annually from ages 14 to 18.

Unique Dispositional Precursors to Early-Onset Conduct Problems and Criminal Offending in Adulthood.

Objective: The aims of this study were to examine whether dispositional interpersonal callousness, negative emotionality, and hyperactivity/impulsivity uniquely influence the development of childhood-onset conduct problems and persistent criminal behavior in males, and to determine whether specific facets of negative emotionality (dysregulated anger versus anxiety) in childhood are differentially associated with the development of chronic antisocial behavior.

Method: Childhood dispositional features and conduct problems were assessed semiannually using parent- and teacher-report measures across 9 consecutive assessments in a school-based sample of 503 boys (∼7-11 years of age). Participants' criminal behavior was assessed using official records from adolescence into the early 30s.

Early maltreatment is associated with greater risk of conduct problems and lack of guilt in adolescence.

Previous research indicates a link between childhood maltreatment and elevated conduct problems. Yet the literature is less clear on associations between maltreatment and callousness (e.g.

Childhood risk factors associated with adolescent gun carrying among Black and White males: An examination of self-protection, social influence, and antisocial propensity explanations.

Adolescent gun violence is a serious public health issue that disproportionately affects young Black males. Although it has been postulated that differential exposure to childhood risk factors might account for racial differences in adolescent gun carrying, no longitudinal studies have directly examined this issue. We examined whether childhood risk factors indexing neighborhood crime, peer delinquency, and conduct problems predicted the initiation of adolescent gun carrying among a community sample of Black and White boys.

Assessing Callous-Unemotional Traits in Adolescents: Determining Cutoff Scores for the Inventory of Callous and Unemotional Traits.

Objective: This study aims to establish a cut score for the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits, a well-validated measure of callous-unemotional (CU) traits in youth for which there is currently no cutoff score.

Method: We analyzed data on 634 adolescents from high schools (n = 343) and juvenile detention centers (n = 291). Participants, their parents and guardians, and their teachers and staff members reported on participants' CU traits and aggressive/violent behavior.

Violence and Victimization During Incarceration: Relations to Psychosocial Adjustment During Reentry to the Community.

We surveyed male ex-offenders (N = 100) about their experiences during and prior to incarceration to assess the role of these factors in psychosocial adjustment postrelease. Participants completed measures of preincarceration mental health problems and severe victimization and feelings of safety during incarceration; they also self-reported emotional distress, antisocial behavior, and posttraumatic stress (PTS). Moderator analyses of PTS outcomes revealed two key interactions between preincarceration mental health problems and severe victimization during incarceration as well as preincarceration mental health problems by feelings of safety during incarceration.

Video Games Do Indeed Influence Children and Adolescents' Aggression, Prosocial Behavior, and Academic Performance: A Clearer Reading of Ferguson (2015).

Psychological scientists have long sought to determine the relative impact of environmental influences over development and behavior in comparison with the impact of personal, dispositional, or genetic influences. This has included significant interest in the role played by media in children's development with a good deal of emphasis on how violent media spark and shape aggressive behavior in children and adolescents. Despite a variety of methodological weaknesses in his meta-analysis, Ferguson (2015, this issue) presents evidence to support the positive association between violent media consumption and a number of poor developmental outcomes.

Exploring Primary and Secondary Variants of Psychopathy in Adolescents in Detention and in the Community.

The current study aims to ascertain how different variants of callous-unemotional traits differ in their psychopathology, exposure to aggression and violence, and aggressive and violent behavior. If secondary/distressed variants (high in callous-unemotional traits and high in anxiety) and primary/traditional variants (high in callous-unemotional traits and low in anxiety) differ along these dimensions, it may speak to their different etiologies, treatment needs (e.g.

The protective function of neighborhood social ties on psychological health.

Objective: To examine relations between neighborhood characteristics and psychological health, specifically whether neighborhood trust and cooperation buffers the effects of neighborhood disorder on depression and aggressive behavior.

Methods: The sample was composed of 127 urban, African American young adults from Trenton, NJ.

Results: The protective function of neighborhood social interactions depended on the outcome, such that trust and cooperation among neighbors moderated the effect of neighborhood disorder on aggression but not depression.