Abstract
Examined whether familial characteristics (FCs) are associated with antisocial outcomes (AOs), as opposed to other behavioral or mental health problems that children have. The utility of 29 maternal and FCs to identify children who are at high risk for AOs and delinquent outcomes were tested. Three groups of 11-yr-old children were compared on family variables (FVs): 50 antisocial children, 37 with other disorders, and 220 with no disorder. Nine FVs differentiated the antisocial Ss from the non-disordered Ss. The most important FVs were parental disagreement about how to discipline the 5-yr-old child and many changes of the child's primary caretaker during childhood. Among children who were known to police by age 15, prospective FVs accounted for significant amounts of the variance in number of police contacts and age at 1st contact. FCs were associated with AOs in childhood and early adolescence.