Developmental Changes of Aggressive and Rule-Breaking Adolescent Antisocial Behavior: The Persistence of Exposure to Family Violence

Prior literature has supported the distinct factor structure of aggressive and rule-breaking adolescent antisocial behavior and has linked these differences to the age of onset hypothesis. However, the age of onset hypothesis is not consistent, and few studies have examined the stability of aggressive and rule-breaking antisocial behavior over time and the predictive effects of exposure to family violence. Thus, the current study (52% female; M age = 11.23; SD age = 0.46; n = 1,579) examined the longitudinal trajectories of aggressive and rule-breaking antisocial behavior using the random-intercept first-order autoregressive (RI-AR1) model and tested how exposure to family violence predicted the two constructs. Results indicated that aggression and rule-breaking adolescent antisocial behavior persisted across four waves. However, exposure to family violence longitudinally predicted rule-breaking antisocial behavior but not aggressive behavior. Exposure to family violence serves as a long-term risk factor for rule-breaking but not aggression. This study highlights preventive interventions for adolescent externalizing behavior.