Prospective analyses of childhood factors and antisocial behavior for students with high-incidence disabilities

The disproportionate representation of students with learning disabilities (LD) and emotional disturbance (ED) in the correctional and criminal justice system has become a critical national concern (Quinn, Rutherford, Leone, Osher, & Poirier, 2005). Over the last two decades, Casey and Keilitz (1990) indicated that the estimated prevalence of LD juvenile offenders was approximately 35.6% based on 21 studies. Murphy (1986) reported that the prevalence rates of ED in the correctional system ranged from 16% to 50%. Likewise, in the national reports (Newman, Wagner, Cameto, Knokey, & Shaver, 2010), youth with ED and LD, identified as the most vulnerable students with disabilities in 1990 and 2005, had significantly higher arrest rates in early adulthood compared with other students with disabilities. Arrest rates during early adulthood (the first 4 years out of high school) for youth with ED were 36% in 1990 and 61% in 2005; arrest rates for those with LD were 16% in 1990 and 24% in 2005. The high prevalence rate of delinquent and criminal behavior for students with LD and ED has led to considerable social costs to meet their educational and mental health needs, as well as the costs associated with correctional and criminal justice services. For the purpose of this paper, antisocial behavior refers to involvement with juvenile delinquency and adult crime.Engaging in antisocial behavior such as juvenile delinquency and adult crime are associated with pervasive problems in community integration and involvement. Children and youth with LD or ED are more vulnerable and far less likely to make a successful transition to the community, as evidenced by their involvement in criminal justice system (Newman et al., 2010). Research examining the linkage between disabilities and antisocial behavior indicates that students with LD and ED have a higher risk of being arrested than students without LD and ED (Bryant et al., 1995; Doren, Bullis, & Benz, 1996; Newman et al., 2010). The specific nature of the relation between high-incidence disability and later juvenile delinquency and criminal offenses is not well understood, however, with some study results being less clear about their association (Jonson-Reid, Williams, & Webster, 2001 ; Mal mgren, Abbott, & Hawkins, 1 999). Considering the breadth of the problem and the burden of support, one of the most pressing challenges in special education research and practice is to increase our understanding of salient factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency and adult crime for school-age children with LD and ED to inform effective interventions that enhance educational success and prevent adverse outcomes.Research in this area has generated a number of hypothesized mechanisms between disabilities and delinquent and criminal behavior. School failure theory suggests that students with high-incidence disabilities tend to experience school failure (e.g., rejection experience, negative self-image, or frustration), which causes subsequent school dropout and delinquency (Osher, Woodruff, & Sims, 2002). Susceptibility theory asserts that personality and cognitive deficits (e.g., impulsivity or inability to conceptualize causality) ultimately lead students with disabilities toward rule-breaking and eventual criminal and delinquent behavior (Waldie & Spreen, 1993). Such hypothesized models, which do not address the complexity of the development of antisocial behavior, have been criticized for being too simplistic. The existence of disabilities might be a risk factor of subsequent antisocial behavior, but the scope and severity of problems vary considerably among students with disabilities through the impact of the social contexts (Werner, 1999).Factors of Antisocial BehaviorFrom an ecological perspective, variation in individual development is related to transactional influences within and between the individual and nested ecological systems (individual-dyads-classrooms-schools-neighborhoods, etc. …