Population density and youth antisocial behavior.

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: K. Paige Harden, University of Virginia; Brian M. D'Onofrio, University of Virginia; Carol Van Hulle, University of Virginia; Eric Turkheimer, University of Virginia; Joseph L. Rodgers, University of Virginia; Irwin Waldman, Emory University; Benjamin B. Lahey, University of Virginia
• Language: English
• Date: 2009-01-01
• Publisher: Wiley: 12 months
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2009 The Authors, Journal compilation © 2009 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02044.x
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
• ISSN: 0021-9630
• Volume: 50
• Issue: 8
• Start Page: 999
• End Page: 1008
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was supported by grant R01-MH070025 to Benjamin B. Lahey.
• Keywords: Humans; Child, Preschool; Conduct Disorder; Residence Characteristics; Causality; Male; Adolescent; United States; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Population Density; Female; Longitudinal Studies; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Juvenile Delinquency
• Research Categories: Psychology, Behavioral; Sociology, Public and Social Welfare

Abstract

Theoretical models concerning how neighborhood contexts adversely influence juvenile antisocial behavior frequently focus on urban neighborhoods; however, previous studies comparing urban and rural areas on the prevalence of youth antisocial behavior have yielded mixed results. The current study uses longitudinal data on the offspring of a nationally representative sample of mothers (N = 4,886) in the US. There was no relation between density and mother-reported child conduct problems across ages 4-13 years, but youth living in areas of greater population density exhibited more youth self-reported delinquency across 10-17 years. Families often moved to counties with greater or lesser population density, but longitudinal analyses treating population density as a time-varying covariate did not support the hypothesis that living in densely populated counties influenced youth delinquency. Rather, the association between population density and delinquency appears to be due to unmeasured selection variables that differ between families who live in more or less densely populated counties.