Henrik Elonheimo

Bullying by peers in childhood and effects on psychopathology, suicidality, and criminality in adulthood

Bullying is shown to be associated with adverse outcomes in cross-sectional studies, but only a few studies have prospectively examined the effects of childhood bullying on adult outcomes. Our Series paper focuses on prospective longitudinal studies that used large, population-based, community samples analysed through quantitative methods and published between 1960 and 2015. We describe the results of childhood bullying in adulthood in three of the most burdensome areas: psychopathology, suicidality, and criminality. We note that the different groups involved (ie, victims, bullies, and bully-victims) are at risk of difficulties later in life, but their risk profiles differ and the contributions are probably not independent. Controlling for confounders reduces the risk and sometimes eliminates it. Victims are at a high risk of internalising disorders. Bullies seem to be at risk of later externalising disorders and criminality, mainly violent crime and illicit drug misuse. Bully-victims seem to be at risk of internalising disorders, externalising disorders, and criminality, but not all studies examined bully-victims as a separate group. Boys and girls differ in their long-term outcomes. A dose effect exists in which frequent bullying involvement in childhood is most strongly associated with adult adversities. Future studies need to control for additional factors (including genetic, psychosocial, and environmental) to account for the mechanisms behind the reported longitudinal associations.

Separate and interactive contributions of weak inhibitory control and threat sensitivity to prediction of suicide risk

Biobehavioral dispositions can serve as valuable referents for biologically oriented research on core processes with relevance to many psychiatric conditions. The present study examined two such dispositional variables-weak response inhibition (or disinhibition; INH-) and threat sensitivity (or fearfulness; THT+)-as predictors of the serious transdiagnostic problem of suicide risk in two samples: male and female outpatients from a U.S. clinic (N=1078), and a population-based male military cohort from Finland (N=3855). INH- and THT+ were operationalized through scores on scale measures of disinhibition and fear/fearlessness, known to be related to DSM-defined clinical conditions and brain biomarkers. Suicide risk was assessed by clinician ratings (clinic sample) and questionnaires (both samples). Across samples and alternative suicide indices, INH- and THT+ each contributed uniquely to prediction of suicide risk-beyond internalizing and externalizing problems in the case of the clinic sample where diagnostic data were available. Further, in both samples, INH- and THT+ interactively predicted suicide risk, with individuals scoring concurrently high on both dispositions exhibiting markedly augmented risk. Findings demonstrate that dispositional constructs of INH- and THT+ are predictive of suicide risk, and hold potential as referents for biological research on suicidal behavior.

Criminal offending among males and females between ages 15 and 30 in a population-based nationwide 1981 birth cohort: Results from the FinnCrime Study

We describe the epidemiology of crime between ages 15 and 30 in a population-based sample. We received police register data for 5405 males and females, representing the children born in Finland in 1981. We classified crimes into drug, violent, property, traffic, drunk driving, and sexual crimes, excluding minor traffic offenses. Of males, 60% and of females, 25% were registered for offending. For males, prevalence peaked in late adolescence, while for females, there was no peak age. Offending frequency remained stable for male offenders but was lower among adolescent female offenders. All crime types overlapped each other. Crime accumulated: 1% committed 34% of male and 56% of female offenses. In conclusion, the adolescent peak in offending reflects peaking prevalence among males, not females, nor frequency of offending among offenders. The crime problem is focused on two key groups: late adolescent males and the few males and females in whom crime concentrates.

Evidence for the crime drop: survey findings from two Finnish cities between 1992 and 2013

In this article, results from self-report studies in two Finnish cities, Helsinki and Turku, are presented. The aims are to compare the prevalence of youth crime between these cities and changes in delinquency during the observation period. In Helsinki, the surveys took place in 1992, 2006 and 2013, and in Turku, the surveys took place in 1992, 2001, and 2013. With the exception of the Turku 2001 survey, all datasets have been collected under the auspices of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD). The most recent survey, ISRD3, targeted comprehensive school pupils from grades 7–9 (ages 13–16), while some of the former studies excluded 7th and/or 8th grades. The results show that (1) the delinquency rates are generally higher in Helsinki than in Turku and (2) the prevalence of both property- and violence-related crimes has decreased, while drug use manifested fluctuating or increasing trends. Overall, the findings are consistent with the observation that there has been a relatively general crime drop in the Western world since the 1990s.

Psychosocial correlates of police-registered youth crime. A Finnish population-based study

This study is focused on psychosocial correlates of youth crime in a sample of 2330 Finnish boys born in 1981. Two kinds of data were combined: questionnaires completed by the boys at call-up in 1999 and crime registered in the Finnish National Police Register between 1998 and 2001. One-fifth of the boys were registered to offending during the 4-year period in late adolescence; 14% were registered for one or two offences, 4% for three to five offences, and 3% for more than five offences. Crime accumulated heavily in those with more than five offences, as they accounted for 68% of all crime. Independent correlates of crime were living in a small community, parents’ low educational level and divorce, having a regular relationship, self-reported delinquency, daily smoking, and weekly drunkenness, whereas anxious-depressiveness was reversely associated with crime. Most psychosocial problems covaried linearly with offending frequency, being particularly manifested by multiple recidivists. However, recidivists had very rarely used mental health services. The results indicate that offending and various psychosocial problems accumulate in a small minority of boys not reached by mental health services.

Sense of coherence and criminal offences among young males. Findings from the Finnish from a boy to a man study

The aim is to study associations between sense of coherence (SOC), and criminality among young males. The sample included 2314 males born 1981. Information about self-reports of SOC was obtained from obligatory military call-up. Information about criminality was obtained from the Finnish National Police Register. Self-reported poor SOC was associated with all specific crime types. Poor SOC was especially associated with high level of criminal offences. The study shows the sensitivity of the SOC-13 scale to antisocial and rule-breaking behavior. Further studies to examine SOC as an evaluation measure of the effect of psychosocial interventions are warranted.

Turku attack challenges criminology

On Friday afternoon, 18 August 2017, an asylum seeker stabbed 10 supposedly randomly chosen people in the centre of Turku. Police investigates the knife attack as terrorism. The suspect has been directed to mental examination and we have to wait for the final analyses of the case. Finnish Security Intelligence Service had raised its terrorist threat assessment already before, and that way the attack was expected. Still, it was a surreal experience to announce to friends around the world that I was safe during the Turku attack. Turku is such a small town (with less than 190,000 inhabitants) that the crime touched the whole community in a more concrete way than in large metropolises. Finland is a violent country. Measured by homicide rates, we are between East and West. After the Turku attack, it has been discussed whether it was a continuation of the Finnish tradition of violence or a sign of a new kind of threat. Finland has become notorious for school shootings, and parallels have been drawn between the knife attack and school shootings. There are certain similarities between these phenomena: there have been warning signs such as the offender refraining from normal social interactions and seeking support from extremist international networks. However, according to news reports, there seems to be a religious component and motivation in the Turku attack. As the attack happened, there was an urgent need for information about the events. However, legal scholars blamed the Minister of the Interior for informing the public about the looks of the suspect and mentioning Turku and Barcelona in the same speech. Professor of Sociology of Law declared not to be afraid. At the same time, the police were widely thanked for highly professional and prompt action. After the attack, there were reports of people turning to police to ‘refuel safety’. Suddenly, the dogma of critical criminology was silenced as police proved their relevance in protecting the public. In Finland, the criminality risk among asylum seekers is a sensitive and contested topic. Therefore, in this year’s Stockholm Criminology Symposium, I was interested to hear a presentation by Norwegian colleagues who showed that the risk of offending is linked with immigrant status and the reason of immigration. When I asked the presenters if they had experienced critical social media campaigns, they did not seem to be touched by the problem. In Finland, there is a tendency to highlight the third task of university, which is to interact with society on the basis of scientific knowledge. However, there is a risk that this will give academics a free mandate to do politics detached from scientific evidence. Instead of political statements of not being in fear or taking up every word of the authorities who are trying to protect the public, the primary task of sociolegal scholars should be to analyse what factors are behind crimes such as terrorism and what are the evidence-based measures to decrease criminality. Unfortunately, there is a bias in the Finnish sociolegal field, where police are seen more as a threat than an important crime-preventive actor, where security is seen as something to criticize and where ideology outweighs what works in crime prevention. There is a risk that evidence-based scholars leave university to escape the structural conditions that favour ideological over empirical science, for example, in recruitment or funding decisions. As of September 2017, I have started as Development Manager at the National Institute for Health and Welfare. My task is to coordinate and develop victim-offender mediation and other