Childhood Risk Factors for Violent Ideations in Late Adolescence and Early Adulthood

Background

Violent ideations (VIs) refer to thoughts, daydreams or fantasies of killing, inflicting serious physical harm or humiliating another person. Violent ideations are of particular interest at the intersection between mental health and violent behaviour. However, little is currently known about developmental trajectories of violent ideations in adolescence and early adulthood, and the extent to which childhood risk factors predict the likelihood of violent ideations.

Aims

This study aims to address three key questions: (1) what are the developmental trends in violent thinking from ages 13 to 24, and how do they differ by sex? (2) To what extent can childhood risk factors predict VIs in late adolescence and early adulthood? (3) Are these associations sex-specific?

Methods

Data were collected from the z-proso cohort study that is an on-going population-based longitudinal cohort study of 1555 participants. We use participant, teacher and parent reports to examine the extent to which childhood trait aggressiveness, poor impulse control, social rejection, an adverse family environment and violent media consumption predict the likelihood of violent ideations.

Results

Descriptive analyses show that VIs strongly decline from late adolescence to early adulthood. We also find substantial between-individual stability in VIs between ages 17, 20 and 24. Indicators of childhood aggressiveness, poor impulse control, social rejection, an adverse family environment and adult media consumption were found to consistently predict increased violent ideations among males. Among females, self-reported aggressive behaviour, aversive parenting and a poor teacher–child bond had relatively strong associations with VIs. Overall, childhood risk factors were more predictive of VIs among male study participants than among females.

Conclusions

The propensity to experience VIs declines between ages 15 and 24. The experience of VIs during late adolescence to early adulthood had long-term associations with childhood risk factors indicative of general aggressiveness, low impulse control, social rejection, an adverse family context and violent media consumption. Most prospective associations were stronger for males than for females. This is consistent with the notion that a relatively stable violent potential is shaped in childhood for a larger proportion of males than females.