Early conduct problems, school achievement and later crime: findings from a 30-year longitudinal study

This study used dato from a 30-year longitudinal study to esamine the associations between early conduct problems, school achievement and later crime. The analysis showed that, even following extensive adjustment for confounding, both early conduct problems and later educational achievement made independent additive contributions to crime. The important applied implication of these observations is that interventions that increase the eucational attainment of young people with early onset conduct problems may reduce the longer-term risks of antisocial behaviour faced by these young people. Further experimental research is required to ascertain the extent that: a) the educational achievement of young people with early-onset conduct problems can be improved; and b) the extent to which any such improvements translate into reductions in subsequent antisocial behviour.