Sex Differences in Antisocial Behaviour: Conduct Disorder, Delinquency, and Violence in the Dunedin Longitudinal Study

by Terrie E. Moffitt, Avshalom Caspi, Michael Rutter, Phil A. Silva

Overview

Why are females rarely antisocial and males antisocial so often? This is one of the key questions addressed in a fresh approach to sex differences in the causes, course and consequences of antisocial behavior. A multidisciplinary team of authors present all-new findings from the landmark Dunedin Longitudinal Study and also provide new insights into such topics as the importance of puberty, diagnostic issues in psychiatry, the problem of domestic violence and the intergenerational transmission of antisocial behavior.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521804455
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/27/2001
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Criminology
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	6.18(w) x 9.29(h) x 0.94(d)
Lexile:	1550L (what's this?)

Table of Contents

List of figures; List of tables; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; 2. The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study; 3. Sex differences in the amount of antisocial behaviour: dimensional measures; 4. Sex differences in the prevalence of antisocial behaviour: categorical diagnostic measures; 5. Sex differences in physical violence and sex similarities in partner abuse; 6. Sex and the developmental stability of antisocial behaviour; 7. Sex and the age of onset of delinquency and conduct disorder; 8. Sex effects in risk predictors for antisocial behaviour: are males more vulnerable than females to risk factors for antisocial behaviour?; 9. Sex effects in risk predictors for antisocial behaviour: are males exposed to more risk factors for antisocial behaviour?; 10. Can sex differences in personality traits help to explain sex differences in antisocial behaviour?; 11. Sex and comorbidity: are there sex differences in the co-occurrence of conduct disorder and other disorders?; 12. Do girls who develop antisocial behaviour surmount a higher threshold of risk than their male counterparts?; 13. Sex differences in the effects of antisocial behaviour on young adult outcomes; 14. Sex, antisocial behaviour and mating: mate selection and early childbearing; 15. Evaluating the recommendation to relax the criteria for diagnosing conduct disorder in girls; 16. Life-course persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial behaviour among males and females; 17. Priorities for a research agenda; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study examined a sample of 1000 males and females born in 1972 and 1973 to examine the "epidemiology of sex differences and antisocial behavior during the first two decades of life". The chapters of this volume report on the study's method, its findings on overall sex differences in the amount of antisocial behavior, comparisons of official and self-report data, risk processes that lead to antisocial behavior, test results of the differential exposure hypothesis, other psychopathologies experienced by antisocial people, a comparison of early-adult with adult outcomes, and diagnostic hypotheses regarding sex differences. The work concludes with a list of research priorities. The authors are psychiatrists in the UK and the US. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"...the book is a pleasure to read." Psychological Medicine

"A particularly attractive feature is a succinct summary of the findings at the end of each chapter and a list of related questions that remain for investigators to address. Anyone researching into or developing policies for antisocial children should have access to this book. Clinicians will also find it of great value. The findings will be quoted for many years to come." European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

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