The second is a series of coordinated longitudinal studies that is following 7,000 randomly selected children, adolescents, and young adults, looking at the changing circumstances of their lives, as well as the personal characteristics that may lead them toward or away from a variety of antisocial behaviors. Two additional elements included in the project are a study of children's exposure to violence and its consequences, and a study of child care and its impact on early childhood development. The studies integrate experts from a wide range of disciplines, including psychiatry, developmental and clinical psychology, sociology, criminology, public health and medicine, education, human behavior, and statistics. This is the first study to look in a comprehensive way at how community factors influence individual development and social behavior. The investigators will measure community variables across several dimensions, including social and economic structures, organizational and political structures, cultural structures, informal and formal social controls, and social cohesion.
Some children have achievement problems early in school.
Others have behavior or truancy problems. Some exhibit both kinds of problems, and others neither. Peers Delinquent youths tend to associate with delinquent peers and usually act in groups. Many of these youths have been excluded by their more conventional peers. Families Poor parenting practices are strongly associated with substance abuse and delinquency.