Raymond A. T. de Kemp

Stability in Bullying and Victimization and its Association with Social Adjustment in Childhood and Adolescence

This study examined the concurrent and longitudinal associations between stability in bullying and victimization, and social adjustment in childhood and adolescence. Participants were 189 girls and 328 boys who were studied in primary school and in secondary school. The mean age of the participants was 11.1 years in primary school and 14.1 years in secondary school. The measures consisted of peer reported social and personal characteristics. Children who bullied in childhood and adolescence were less liked and more disliked in childhood, and more aggressive and disruptive both in childhood and adolescence, than children who bullied only in childhood or adolescence. Children who bullied or who were victimized only in childhood did not differ largely in adolescence from the children that were never bullies or victims. Children who were victimized in adolescence closely resembled those who were victimized in childhood and adolescence in terms of being liked or disliked, being nominated as a friend, and shyness. The study stresses the need to distinguish between stable and transient bullies and victims.

Early Adolescent Empathy, Parental Support, and Antisocial Behavior

In this two-wave prospective study, the authors investigated whether level of dispositional affective empathy moderated the association between parental support and antisocial behavior in early adolescents. The sample consisted of 823 Dutch boys and girls (mean age = 12.8 years) enrolled in the first year of secondary education. Higher levels of affective empathy were associated with less delinquent and aggressive behavior. Contrary to expectations, structural equation modeling did not indicate that youth with higher levels of affective empathy were susceptible to parental support. Further analyses showed that gender moderated the association between parental support and future delinquent and aggressive behavior. Only for girls, were high levels of parental support associated with lower levels of antisocial behavior.

Self-Control and Early Adolescent Antisocial Behavior: A Longitudinal Analysis

The article discusses a three-wave longitudinal study that investigates the relationship between self-control and aggressive and delinquent behavior of early adolescent boys and girls. The sample consists of 1,012 Dutch adolescents (mean age = 12.3) in their first year of secondary education. Structural equation modeling analyses reveal that high levels of self-control consistently decrease aggressive and delinquent behavior in the subsequent 6 months follow-up intervals. Results for the total sample do not support the hypothesis that self-control is influenced by previous levels of aggression or delinquency. For boys, the partial evidence found indicates reciprocal effects of self-control and delinquency.

Frequency and seriousness of parental offending and their impact on juvenile offending

The present study investigated to what extent the frequency and seriousness of parental offending were related to their offspring offending. Police officers in one Dutch province completed a form to register risk factors and the actions undertaken when they came into contact with offenders aged 8-14 years. These juveniles were followed for 18 months to establish whether or not they committed more crimes. In addition, the parents of these children were traced in the police criminal record systems. Data were gathered from 577 children and their parents. Of these children, 34% were exposed to parental criminality, of which 33 delinquents had two criminal parents and 163 had one criminal parent. If both parents were criminal, the child had the highest frequency of offending. Further, the frequency of parental offending was positively related to the frequency of the childs offending. Concerning the seriousness of juvenile crimes, the seriousness of the committed offences of the father showed a positive relation with the seriousness of his childs offending. Unexpectedly, a negative association was found between the seriousness of maternal offending and the seriousness of her child offending. These results offered a better understanding of the influence that parents with a criminal history have on their children. Further research is needed to identify mechanisms underlying this relationship in order to provide appropriate prevention and intervention strategies.

Street children in Nairobi: Hakuna Matata?

In many Third World countries there is a large population of street children. The causes of this phenomenon are diverse; for example rapid urbanization worsening economic trends and rampant population growth. This study reveals the range of difficulties that plague projects for street children in Nairobi Kenya. The data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews. In total seven projects were visited and 68 street children were interviewed. Recommendations to improve assistance to and care of street children in Nairobi are presented. (authors)