Gender Differences in the Natural History of Antisocial Behaviour: A 40 Year Prospective Study

Abstract There is continuing debate about gender differences in antisocial behaviour from childhood to adults of middle age. Moffitt (2018) has documented changes in antisocial behaviour from childhood to early adulthood identifying adolescent limited and life course persistent typologies of antisocial behaviour. There is a need to build on existing research on gender differences in antisocial behaviour across the life-course in two ways, first by extending the age of follow-up to 40 years and, second, by assessing the different antisocial trajectories for males and females into adulthood. Data are from a long-running birth cohort study. Respondents were recruited in the foetal period (mother) and have been repeatedly interviewed to 40 years of age. At 5 years, the mother completed the Achenbach Child Behaviour Checklist, and at 14 and 21 years, the children self-reported their behaviour on the same measure. At 30 and 40 years respondents completed a newly developed antisocial behaviour questionnaire. Mean number of antisocial behaviours were obtained at each follow-up. Separate male and female trajectory models were derived and produced trajectory paths that were largely similar. The most frequent pattern was respondents who had low levels of antisocial behaviour from 5 to 40 years of age. Consistent with existing research we find trajectories with an adolescent peak then decline in ASB (high and medium peaks). Extending what is currently known, we find for both males and females, a small group who have a moderate adolescent peak then a decline and subsequent increase in ASB by 40 years of age. While the findings suggest there is limited persistence in ASB from childhood through adolescence to adulthood, there emerges a concern that existing measures of adult ASB do not represent the extent or diversity of ASB manifested by adults. While gender differences in ASB over the life course appear to be modest, this may partly reflect the poorly developed measures of ASB used to assess adult occurring ASB.