Impulsivity and Offending from Childhood to Young Adulthood in the United States: A Developmental Trajectory Analysis

George E. Higgins

University of Louisville, USA

EmmaLeigh E. Kirchner

Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA

Melissa L. Ricketts

Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, USA

Catherine D. Marcum

Appalachian State University, USA

Abstract:

The purpose of the present study was to provide an examination of the development of impulsivity through childhood and its link to offending in adolescence and young adulthood in the United States. Moffitt's (1993, 2003) dual taxonomy provides a framework for understanding this connection. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979), Child and Young Adult surveys (n=413), we show that three trajectory groups of impulsivity and offending best represent these data. The groups indicate relative stability in impulsivity in childhood and offending in adolescence and young adulthood. Further we show that high levels of impulsivity are connected with high and stable levels of offending.

Keyword:

Impulsivity, Offending, development, Trajectories