Childhood predictors of violent behavior

In this study, prospective childhood data from birth to 7 years of age were used to determine predictors of subsequent violent behavior. The childhood predictors found for the girls accounted for more variance in the reported later violent offenses. 24.9% compared to 3.8% for the boys. This large difference may be due partly to the fact that violent behavior is more unusual among girls, thus, those girls who are violent are more readily differentiated from the others. The only two early childhood variables that were found to predict for both genders were: (a) less normal behavior and (b) presence of deviant or stereotyped behavior. Thus, abnormal behavior in childhood can be considered to be a fairly reliable predictor to greater likelihood of later violent behavior. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.