Ecological contexts of youth antisocial behaviors: A longitudinal perspective

The current study examined and compared the relative influence of ecological factors on youth antisocial behaviors (i.e., aggression and rule-breaking) using longitudinal data while assessing the moderating effect of youth attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis. The study used the fifth and sixth wave of data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 2595; mean age = 9.26 at wave five) for the analysis. Multivariate models show that youth ADHD, physically and psychologically abusive parenting, peer victimization, and community cohesion were important predictors of youth antisocial behaviors. Furthermore, youth ADHD diagnosis moderated some associations between the ecological factors and antisocial behaviors, suggesting that youth with and without ADHD may respond to some ecological contexts differently regarding the concerning behaviors. The findings imply that interventions targeting youth antisocial behaviors should involve collaboration across systems and coordination across programs to tackle a multilayered ecological context, especially when youth with ADHD are involved.