Mark Assink

Risk factors for persistent delinquent behavior among juveniles: A meta-analytic review

Multiple risk domains have been identified for life-course persistent (LCP) offending, but a quantitative review of the effect of different risk domains was not yet available. Therefore, we performed a series of multilevel meta-analyses to examine the effect of several risk domains for LCP offending relative to adolescence-limited (AL) offending. We included 55 studies reporting on 1014 effects of risk factors, and classified each factor into one of 14 risk domains. The results revealed a significant effect for 11 domains ranging from d=0.200 to d=0.758. Relatively large effects were found for the criminal history, aggressive behavior, and alcohol/drug abuse domains, whereas relatively small effects were found for the family, neurocognitive, and attitude domains. The physical health, background, and neighborhood domains yielded no effect. Moderator analyses showed that effects of sibling-related risk factors were larger than effects of mother-related risk factors, and that the effect of the relationship domain was largest during childhood. We conclude that most risk domains contribute to the development of LCP offending and that differences between AL and LCP offenders may be quantitative rather than qualitative. Implications of the present results for risk assessment and the prevention/treatment of LCP offending are discussed.

The effects of physical activity interventions on psychosocial outcomes in adolescents: A meta-analytic review.

Physical activity interventions are often implemented in the adolescent mental health care practice to prevent or treat psychosocial problems. To date, no systematic review of the effect of these physical activity interventions in adolescents has been conducted. In the current study, four multilevel meta-analyses were performed to assess the overall effect of physical activity interventions on externalizing problems, internalizing problems, self-concept, and academic achievement in adolescents. In addition, possible moderating factors were examined. In total, 57 studies reporting on 216 effect sizes were included, and the results showed significant small-to-moderate effects of physical activity interventions on externalizing problems (d=0.320), internalizing problems (d=0.316), self-concept (d=0.297), and academic achievement (d=0.367). Further, moderator analyses showed that outcome, study, sample, and intervention characteristics influenced the effects of physical activity interventions on psychosocial outcomes. Implications for theory and practice concerning the use of physical activity interventions in adolescent mental health care practice are discussed.

Associations between rejection sensitivity and mental health outcomes: A meta-analytic review

Rejection sensitivity is a personality disposition characterized by oversensitivity to social rejection. Using a three-level meta-analytic model, 75 studies were reviewed that examined associations between rejection sensitivity and five mental health outcomes: depression, anxiety, loneliness, borderline personality disorder, and body dysmorphic disorder. The results showed significant and moderate associations between rejection sensitivity and depression (pooled r=0.332; p<0.001), anxiety (pooled r=0.407; p<0.001), loneliness (pooled r=0.386; p<0.001), borderline personality disorder (pooled r=0.413; p<0.001), and body dysmorphic disorder (pooled r=0.428; p<0.001). The associations between rejection sensitivity and depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder varied by type of sample, but the associations were similar for clinical and non-clinical (i.e., community) samples. The association between rejection sensitivity and anxiety was negatively moderated by percentage of females in samples. The association between rejection sensitivity and depression was negatively moderated by length of follow-up. The longitudinal associations between rejection sensitivity and depression, anxiety, and loneliness were stable over time. Implications of the findings for both risk assessment and prevention and intervention strategies in mental health practice are discussed.

Risk factors for child neglect: A meta-analytic review

Knowledge of risk factors and their effects is vital for successfully preventing and reducing child neglect. This study provides a meta-analytic update of research on risk factors for child neglect. A total of 315 effect sizes were extracted from 36 primary studies and classified into 24 risk domains. Effects of 15 risk domains were significant and ranged from small (r = .110) to large (r = .372) in magnitude. Most risks were found at the parental level, such as having a history of antisocial behavior/criminal offending (r = .372); having a history of mental/psychiatric problems (r = . 259); having mental/physical problems (r = .207); and experiences of abuse in own childhood (r = .182). The effect of mother-related risk factors was not significantly different from the effect of father-related risk factors. It is concluded that child neglect is determined by multiple risk domains and that especially parent-related risk factors are important in preventing and reducing child neglect. Implications of the results for clinical practice are discussed.

The effectiveness of risk assessment methods: Commentary on "Deciding on child maltreatment: A literature review on methods that improve decision-making"

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The development and validation of the Youth Actuarial Care Needs Assessment Tool for Non-Offenders (Y-ACNAT-NO)

BackgroundIn The Netherlands, police officers not only come into contact with juvenile offenders, but also with a large number of juveniles who were involved in a criminal offense, but not in the role of a suspect (i.e., juvenile non-offenders). Until now, no valid and reliable instrument was available that can be used by Dutch police officers for estimating the risk for future care needs of juvenile non-offenders. In the present study, the Youth Actuarial Care Needs Assessment Tool for Non-Offenders (Y-ACNAT-NO) was developed for predicting the risk for future care needs that consisted of (1) a future supervision order as imposed by a juvenile court judge and (2) future worrisome incidents involving child abuse, domestic violence/strife, and/or sexual offensive behavior at the juvenile’s living address (i.e., problems in the child-rearing environment).MethodsPolice records of 3,200 juveniles were retrieved from the Dutch police registration system after which the sample was randomly split in a construction (n = 1,549) and validation sample (n = 1,651). The Y-ACNAT-NO was developed by performing an Exhaustive CHAID analysis using the construction sample. The predictive validity of the instrument was examined in the validation sample by calculating several performance indicators that assess discrimination and calibration.ResultsThe CHAID output yielded an instrument that consisted of six variables and eleven different risk groups. The risk for future care needs ranged from 0.06 in the lowest risk group to 0.83 in the highest risk group. The AUC value in the validation sample was .764 (95% CI [.743, .784]) and Sander’s calibration score indicated an average assessment error of 3.74% in risk estimates per risk category.ConclusionsThe Y-ACNAT-NO is the first instrument that can be used by Dutch police officers for estimating the risk for future care needs of juvenile non-offenders. The predictive validity of the Y-ACNAT-NO in terms of discrimination and calibration was sufficient to justify its use as an initial screening instrument when a decision is needed about referring a juvenile for further assessment of care needs.

The Development and Validation of an Actuarial Risk Assessment Tool for the Prediction of First-Time Offending

For prevention purposes, it is important that police officers can estimate the risk for delinquency among juveniles who were involved in a criminal offense, but not in the role of a suspect. In the present study, the Youth Actuarial Risk Assessment Tool for First-Time Offending (Y-ARAT-FO) was developed based solely on police records with the aim to enable Dutch police officers to predict the risk for first-time offending. For the construction of this initial screening instrument, an Exhaustive Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detector (Exhaustive CHAID) analysis was performed on a data set that was retrieved from the Dutch police system. The Y-ARAT-FO was developed on a sample of 1,368 juveniles and validated on a different sample of 886 juveniles showing moderate predictive accuracy in the validation sample (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] = .728). The predictive accuracy of the Y-ARAT-FO was considered sufficient to justify its use as an initial screening instrument by the Dutch police.

The intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment: A three-level meta-analysis

A parental history of experiencing child maltreatment is an important risk factor in several etiological theories of child maltreatment. In the past, two reviews have been conducted on the available evidence for intergenerational continuity in child maltreatment, but were only qualitative in nature. Therefore, the present review aimed to provide a quantitative summary of the current knowledge on intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment. In our 3-level random-effects meta-analysis, we included 84 studies reporting on 285 effect sizes and found a medium summary effect of r = 0.289; 95% CI [0.257, 0.337], with significant variation in effect sizes within (level 2) and between (level 3) studies. This implies that in families of parents who experienced maltreatment in their own childhood, the odds of child maltreatment are almost three times the odds of child maltreatment in families of parents without a history of experiencing child maltreatment (OR = 2.990). However, as indications for bias were found, caution is warranted in interpreting this effect. Moderator analyses revealed that the effect of intergenerational transmission was the smallest in children who experienced physical abuse. Further, study quality was negatively associated with effect size magnitude. We highlight the need for an improvement in quality of primary research, and discuss implications of our findings for clinical practice.

Predicting child maltreatment: A meta-analysis of the predictive validity of risk assessment instruments

Risk assessment is crucial in preventing child maltreatment since it can identify high-risk cases in need of child protection intervention. Despite widespread use of risk assessment instruments in child welfare, it is unknown how well these instruments predict maltreatment and what instrument characteristics are associated with higher levels of predictive validity. Therefore, a multilevel meta-analysis was conducted to examine the predictive accuracy of (characteristics of) risk assessment instruments. A literature search yielded 30 independent studies (N=87,329) examining the predictive validity of 27 different risk assessment instruments. From these studies, 67 effect sizes could be extracted. Overall, a medium significant effect was found (AUC=0.681), indicating a moderate predictive accuracy. Moderator analyses revealed that onset of maltreatment can be better predicted than recurrence of maltreatment, which is a promising finding for early detection and prevention of child maltreatment. In addition, actuarial instruments were found to outperform clinical instruments. To bring risk and needs assessment in child welfare to a higher level, actuarial instruments should be further developed and strengthened by distinguishing risk assessment from needs assessment and by integrating risk assessment with case management.

Does Natural Mentoring Matter? A Multilevel Meta-analysis on the Association Between Natural Mentoring and Youth Outcomes

Abstract In this meta‐analytic review, we examined the relation between natural mentoring and youth outcomes in four domains: academic and vocational functioning, social‐emotional development, physical health, and psychosocial problems. Natural mentoring relationships are thought to foster positive youth development and buffer against the risks associated with the tumultuous years of adolescence. Two separate meta‐analyses were conducted on the presence of a natural mentor and the quality of the natural mentoring relationship, including thirty studies from 1992 to present. The findings indicated that the presence of a natural mentor was significantly associated with positive youth outcomes (r = .106). A larger effect size was found for the quality of the natural mentoring relationship in terms of relatedness, social support, and autonomy support (r = .208). The largest effect sizes were found for social‐emotional development and academic and vocational functioning. Risk‐status (e.g., teenage mothers, homeless youth, youth in foster care, and youth of alcoholic parents) did not moderate the relation between presence and quality of natural mentoring relationships and youth outcomes, which may indicate that natural mentors are generally beneficial for all youth regardless of risk‐status. Implications for theory and practice concerning the quality of the natural mentoring relationship are discussed.