Recent Research Articles
Meldrum, Ryan C., Trucco, Elisa M., Cope, Lora M., Zucker, Robert A., and Mary M. Heitzeg. 2018. "Brain activity, low self-control, and delinquency: An fMRI study of at-risk adolescents." Journal of Criminal Justice, 56, 107-117.
Abstract: Purpose: A vast literature finds that low self-control is associated with a myriad of antisocial behaviors. Consequently, increasing attention has focused on the causes of low self-control. While criminologists have devoted significant attention to studying its social causes, fewer studies have considered its neural bases. Methods: We add to this nascent body of research by using data collected on an at-risk sample of adolescents participating in the ongoing Michigan Longitudinal Study. We examine the functioning of prefrontal and limbic regions of the brain during failed inhibitory control, assessed using the go/no-go task and functional magnetic resonance imaging, in relation to low self-control and self-reported delinquency. Results: Results indicate that greater activation localized in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) during failed inhibitory control is negatively associated with low self-control. Moreover, the association between ACC activity and later delinquency is mediated through low self-control. Conclusions: Findings of this study demonstrate the utility of integrating neuroscientific and criminological perspectives on the causes of antisocial behavior. Concluding remarks address the theoretical and policy implications of the findings, as well as directions for future research.
Abstract: Purpose: A vast literature finds that low self-control is associated with a myriad of antisocial behaviors. Consequently, increasing attention has focused on the causes of low self-control. While criminologists have devoted significant attention to studying its social causes, fewer studies have considered its neural bases. Methods: We add to this nascent body of research by using data collected on an at-risk sample of adolescents participating in the ongoing Michigan Longitudinal Study. We examine the functioning of prefrontal and limbic regions of the brain during failed inhibitory control, assessed using the go/no-go task and functional magnetic resonance imaging, in relation to low self-control and self-reported delinquency. Results: Results indicate that greater activation localized in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) during failed inhibitory control is negatively associated with low self-control. Moreover, the association between ACC activity and later delinquency is mediated through low self-control. Conclusions: Findings of this study demonstrate the utility of integrating neuroscientific and criminological perspectives on the causes of antisocial behavior. Concluding remarks address the theoretical and policy implications of the findings, as well as directions for future research.
Boutwell, Brian B., Meldrum, Ryan C., Melissa A. Petkovsek. 2017. "General intelligence in friendship selection: A study of preadolescent best friend dyads." Intelligence, 64, 30-35.
Abstract: Research on the topics of general intelligence and friendship formation separately has elicited a tremendous amount of attention across decades of psychological scholarship. To date, however, less effort has been aimed at uniting these lines of inquiry. In particular, do friendship bonds emerge, based in part, on shared levels of cognitive ability? Several disparate lines of evidence suggest this might be the case, however, a need remains to replicate this work using large national samples coupled with psychometrically sound measurement. The current study helps to fill this void in the literature using a national sample of American children. Our results reveal that preadolescent friendship dyads are robustly correlated on measures of general intelligence, and the effects withstand correction for potentially confounding variables.
Abstract: Research on the topics of general intelligence and friendship formation separately has elicited a tremendous amount of attention across decades of psychological scholarship. To date, however, less effort has been aimed at uniting these lines of inquiry. In particular, do friendship bonds emerge, based in part, on shared levels of cognitive ability? Several disparate lines of evidence suggest this might be the case, however, a need remains to replicate this work using large national samples coupled with psychometrically sound measurement. The current study helps to fill this void in the literature using a national sample of American children. Our results reveal that preadolescent friendship dyads are robustly correlated on measures of general intelligence, and the effects withstand correction for potentially confounding variables.
Meldrum, Ryan C., and J.C. Barnes. 2017. "Unstructured socializing with peers and delinquent behavior: A genetically informed analysis." Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46, 1968-1981.
Abstract: A large body of research finds that unstructured socializing with peers is positively associated with delinquency during adolescence. Yet, existing research has not ruled out the potential for confounding due to genetic factors and factors that can be traced to environments shared between siblings. To fill this void, the current study examines whether the association between unstructured socializing with peers and delinquent behavior remains when accounting for genetic factors, shared environmental influences, and a variety of non-shared environmental covariates. We do so by using data from the twin subsample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 1200 at wave 1 and 1103 at wave 2; 51% male; mean age at wave 1 = 15.63). Results from both cross-sectional and lagged models indicate the association between unstructured socializing with peers and delinquent behavior remains when controlling for both genetic and environmental influences. Supplementary analyses examining the association under different specifications offer additional, albeit qualified, evidence supportive of this finding. The study concludes with a discussion highlighting the importance of limiting free time with friends in the absence of authority figures as a strategy for reducing delinquency during adolescence.
Abstract: A large body of research finds that unstructured socializing with peers is positively associated with delinquency during adolescence. Yet, existing research has not ruled out the potential for confounding due to genetic factors and factors that can be traced to environments shared between siblings. To fill this void, the current study examines whether the association between unstructured socializing with peers and delinquent behavior remains when accounting for genetic factors, shared environmental influences, and a variety of non-shared environmental covariates. We do so by using data from the twin subsample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 1200 at wave 1 and 1103 at wave 2; 51% male; mean age at wave 1 = 15.63). Results from both cross-sectional and lagged models indicate the association between unstructured socializing with peers and delinquent behavior remains when controlling for both genetic and environmental influences. Supplementary analyses examining the association under different specifications offer additional, albeit qualified, evidence supportive of this finding. The study concludes with a discussion highlighting the importance of limiting free time with friends in the absence of authority figures as a strategy for reducing delinquency during adolescence.
Meldrum, Ryan C., Piquero, Alex R., Ozkan, Turget, and Zachary A. Powell. In Press. "An examination of the criminological consequences and correlates of remorselessness during adolescence." Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice.
Abstract: Warr recently proposed that remorselessness may offer a useful explanation for understanding persistence and desistence from criminal offending. While early empirical evidence supports this framework, not only is replication needed but there is also a need to consider potential determinants of remorselessness. Using data from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we examine the extent to which remorselessness relates to self-reported violence and aggression as well as several potential correlates of remorselessness. Our findings show that remorselessness during adolescence is associated with a higher likelihood of both self-reported violence and aggression even after controlling for self-control, peer violence, parenting, prior violence, and several other covariates. We also find that males and persons who associate with violent peers are more likely to evince higher remorselessness, while individuals exposed to higher quality parenting evince lower remorselessness. Implications of our findings are discussed.
Abstract: Warr recently proposed that remorselessness may offer a useful explanation for understanding persistence and desistence from criminal offending. While early empirical evidence supports this framework, not only is replication needed but there is also a need to consider potential determinants of remorselessness. Using data from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, we examine the extent to which remorselessness relates to self-reported violence and aggression as well as several potential correlates of remorselessness. Our findings show that remorselessness during adolescence is associated with a higher likelihood of both self-reported violence and aggression even after controlling for self-control, peer violence, parenting, prior violence, and several other covariates. We also find that males and persons who associate with violent peers are more likely to evince higher remorselessness, while individuals exposed to higher quality parenting evince lower remorselessness. Implications of our findings are discussed.
Meldrum, Ryan C., Petkovsek, Melissa, A., Boutwell, Brian B., and Jacob T. N. Young. 2017. Reassessing the relationship between general intelligence and self-control in childhood. Intelligence, 60, 1-9.
Abstract: Intelligence has consistently been recognized as a robust correlate of health, life success, and behavior. Evidence also suggests that intelligence may contribute to another key correlate of behavior: self-control. The current study builds on recent work in this area by examining the association between intelligence and self-control across multiple raters and when accounting for potential confounding influences not accounted for in prior research. Results based on a national sample of U.S. children indicates that higher scores for intelligence are associated with more self-control in both cross-sectional and longitudinal models, even when accounting for prior self-control, child executive functioning, maternal intelligence, and maternal self-control. Moreover, the association persisted across both teacher and mother ratings of self-control. As such, these findings support and extend prior work examining the nexus between intelligence and self-control, and may explain why both traits are important for understanding success across a host of life outcomes in humans.
Abstract: Intelligence has consistently been recognized as a robust correlate of health, life success, and behavior. Evidence also suggests that intelligence may contribute to another key correlate of behavior: self-control. The current study builds on recent work in this area by examining the association between intelligence and self-control across multiple raters and when accounting for potential confounding influences not accounted for in prior research. Results based on a national sample of U.S. children indicates that higher scores for intelligence are associated with more self-control in both cross-sectional and longitudinal models, even when accounting for prior self-control, child executive functioning, maternal intelligence, and maternal self-control. Moreover, the association persisted across both teacher and mother ratings of self-control. As such, these findings support and extend prior work examining the nexus between intelligence and self-control, and may explain why both traits are important for understanding success across a host of life outcomes in humans.
Hoeben, Evelien M., Meldrum, Ryan C., Walker, D'Andre, and Jacob T.N. Young. 2016. "The role of peer delinquency and unstructured socializing in explaining delinquency and substance use: A state-of-the-art review." Journal of Criminal Justice, 47, 108-122.
Abstract: Purpose: Peer delinquency and unstructured socializing have been identified as important correlates of delinquency and substance use. This state-of-the-art review explicates research into these associations to identify important trends in the literature and directions for future research. Methods: A search of the criminological literature and literatures of allied disciplines was executed to identify studies that have examined the potential influence of peer delinquency and unstructured socializing on delinquency and substance use. Results: The review highlights the theoretical underpinnings of the two constructs, issues of measurement quality, the generality of effects on delinquency and substance use, advances in the respective literatures, and important remaining gaps for future research to fill. Conclusions: While considerable attention has been given to studying the potential influence of peer delinquency and unstructured socializing on delinquency and substance use, there remain a number of important ways in which these literatures can be advanced to provide a more complete understanding of the relevance of these constructs for the etiology of delinquency and substance use.
Abstract: Purpose: Peer delinquency and unstructured socializing have been identified as important correlates of delinquency and substance use. This state-of-the-art review explicates research into these associations to identify important trends in the literature and directions for future research. Methods: A search of the criminological literature and literatures of allied disciplines was executed to identify studies that have examined the potential influence of peer delinquency and unstructured socializing on delinquency and substance use. Results: The review highlights the theoretical underpinnings of the two constructs, issues of measurement quality, the generality of effects on delinquency and substance use, advances in the respective literatures, and important remaining gaps for future research to fill. Conclusions: While considerable attention has been given to studying the potential influence of peer delinquency and unstructured socializing on delinquency and substance use, there remain a number of important ways in which these literatures can be advanced to provide a more complete understanding of the relevance of these constructs for the etiology of delinquency and substance use.