Can Childhood Factors Predict Workplace Deviance?

Area of Science:

• Criminology
• Developmental Psychology
• Sociology

Background:

• Workplace deviance research often uses limited samples and designs.
• A key debate involves childhood factors like conduct problems and self-control influencing adult crime.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine childhood conduct-problem trajectories and low self-control as predictors of workplace deviance.
• To investigate these relationships separately for males and females.
• To assess the influence of adult job characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a longitudinal birth cohort.
• Analyzed two types of workplace deviance: production and property deviance.
• Examined predictors including childhood conduct-problem trajectories, low self-control, and adult job characteristics at age 32.

Main Results:

• Childhood factors did not predict workplace deviance in females.
• Childhood conduct-problem trajectories significantly predicted workplace deviance in males.
• Adult job characteristics were not detailed in their predictive power in the provided abstract.

Conclusions:

• Childhood conduct-problem trajectories are significant predictors of adult male workplace deviance.
• The influence of early life factors on workplace crime may differ by gender.
• Further research is needed to understand female workplace deviance predictors.