Trauma and violent offending among adolescents: a birth cohort study.
Child health
Gene environment interactions
Psychiatry
Psychosocial factors
Journal
Journal of epidemiology and community health
ISSN: 1470-2738
Titre abrégé: J Epidemiol Community Health
Pays: England
ID NLM: 7909766
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
10 2020
10 2020
Historique:
received:
27
03
2020
revised:
25
05
2020
accepted:
30
05
2020
pubmed:
3
7
2020
medline:
3
9
2021
entrez:
3
7
2020
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Earlier studies, based on data collected among juvenile court clients or prisoners, suggest that there is an association between trauma and adolescent-onset offending. However, there is a lack of large-scale data on juvenile violence and clinical mental health observations with unselected participants, and a risk-factor-oriented research combining multiple variables affecting violent behaviour. We analyse the effect of trauma on violent offending using longitudinal register-linkage population data. The study is based on administrative data on all Finnish children born between 1986 and 2000, linked with their biological and adoptive parents (N=913 675). The data include annually updated demographic and socioeconomic information from Statistics Finland, hospital discharge and specialised outpatient service records as well as the data from all suspected criminal offences known to the police (1996-2017). We measured trauma diagnosis at age 12-14 and followed participants for subsequent violent criminality from age 15 to 17. The population average estimates, taking into account observed substance abuse and other mental health diagnoses, shows that trauma-related disorders (adjustment problems, post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder) were associated with violent offending. The same was true in sibling fixed effect models, which take into account genetic and environmental confounding shared by siblings. These results suggest that severe stress related to traumatic or strong negative life changes in adolescence is a risk factor for violent behaviour.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
Earlier studies, based on data collected among juvenile court clients or prisoners, suggest that there is an association between trauma and adolescent-onset offending. However, there is a lack of large-scale data on juvenile violence and clinical mental health observations with unselected participants, and a risk-factor-oriented research combining multiple variables affecting violent behaviour.
METHODS
We analyse the effect of trauma on violent offending using longitudinal register-linkage population data. The study is based on administrative data on all Finnish children born between 1986 and 2000, linked with their biological and adoptive parents (N=913 675). The data include annually updated demographic and socioeconomic information from Statistics Finland, hospital discharge and specialised outpatient service records as well as the data from all suspected criminal offences known to the police (1996-2017). We measured trauma diagnosis at age 12-14 and followed participants for subsequent violent criminality from age 15 to 17.
RESULTS
The population average estimates, taking into account observed substance abuse and other mental health diagnoses, shows that trauma-related disorders (adjustment problems, post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder) were associated with violent offending. The same was true in sibling fixed effect models, which take into account genetic and environmental confounding shared by siblings.
DISCUSSION
These results suggest that severe stress related to traumatic or strong negative life changes in adolescence is a risk factor for violent behaviour.
Identifiants
pubmed: 32611692
pii: jech-2020-214188
doi: 10.1136/jech-2020-214188
pmc: PMC7577100
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
845-850Informations de copyright
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
Competing interests: None declared.
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