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Research suggests that convicted persons are more likely than non-convicted persons to suffer poor health. However, few longitudinal studies have investigated associations between health and offending across generations. Using the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, this article prospectively investigates the relationship between health and offending across generations and between genders. At the average age of 25, third generation convicted males and females reported a higher incidence of serious drug use than non-convicted persons. Convicted males reported a higher incidence of mental illness and self-harm, whereas convicted females reported a lower incidence of physical illness, mental illness, self-harm and hospitalizations when compared to non-convicted females. Convicted males reported a higher incidence of industrial accidents, sports injuries and fight injuries, but a lower incidence of road accidents, whereas convicted females were more likely to report road accidents. Like their fathers, convicted males show worse health compared to non-convicted individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An up‐to‐date and accurate picture of the evidence on the impact of poverty is a necessary element of the debate about the future direction of children's social care services internationally. The purpose of this paper is to update evidence about the relationship between poverty and child abuse and neglect (CAN) published since a previous report in 2016 (Bywaters et al., 2016). A systematic search was conducted, identifying seven reviews. Poverty was found to be consistently and strongly associated with maltreatment, be that in terms of familial or community‐level poverty, or in terms of economic security. Findings demonstrated that both the type and the quantity of economic insecurities impacted child maltreatment. Certain economic insecurities – income losses, cumulative material hardship and housing hardship – reliably predicted future child maltreatment. Likewise, as families experienced more material hardship, the risk for maltreatment intensified. In some studies, the relationship between poverty and maltreatment differed by abuse type. Future reviews need to investigate individual papers and their findings across different CAN measures, definitions, samples, abuse types and conceptualisations of poverty to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current research base and the directions which need to be taken to further understand and prevent CAN. Key Practitioner Messages: Poverty should be a central theme in work with families, and visible in assessments, case conferences and court reports.Research indicates that child protection practices need to move away from a narrow focus on parental risk to harmful contexts and ways of addressing these in which society, communities and families can provide environments where harm is minimised, and children are enabled to flourish.Further research is needed to better understand the relationship between poverty and CAN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research shows that convicted and incarcerated persons tend to die early, but this research does not investigate the relationships between criminal career features and early death. The aim of this article is to utilize the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development longitudinal sample of males to study this; 54 males who died early (up to age 65) are compared with 332 males who did not emigrate and did not die early. The results show that convicted offenders, early onset offenders, recidivists and chronic offenders tended to die early, but there were relatively weak relationships between early death and life-course-persistent offenders and career duration. It is concluded that much more research on the relationship between early death and criminal career features is needed, and further tests of criminological theories need to take account of the time at risk of offending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to investigate the relationship between psychosocial risk factors at age 8-10, antisocial personality (ASP) at ages 18, 32 and 48, and poor health (based on self-reports and GP records). Using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, a prospective longitudinal survey of 411 South London males, we found that high ASP scores at ages 18, 32 and 48 were related to a high prevalence of hospitalization. We also found that, according to GP records, high ASP scores at age 32 were related to poor physical health, and high ASP scores at age 48 were related to more mental illness and disabling medical conditions. Of the age 8-10 risk factors, a convicted father and high daring significantly predicted self-reported hospitalization. Low family income significantly predicted GP-reported mental illness and disabling medical conditions. Some of the relationships with high ASP scores did not hold up after controlling for age 8-10 risk factors. Findings from this study are important for developing intervention and risk assessment plans. They also highlight the importance of longitudinal and life-course approaches in investigating the interface between antisocial personality, lifestyles and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attachment concepts are used in diverging ways, which has caused confusion in communication among researchers, among practitioners, and between researchers and practitioners, and hinders their potential for collaboration. In this essay we explore how attachment concepts may vary in meaning across six different domains: popular discourses, developmental science, social psychological science, psychiatric diagnosis, psychotherapy, and child welfare practice. We attempt to typify these forms of attachment discourse by highlighting points of convergence, divergence, and relay between the different domains. Our general conclusions are that diversity in the use of attachment concepts across different domains of application has been largely unrecognised, and that recognition of these differences would reduce confusion, help identify sites where infrastructure needs to be developed to support coordination, and strengthen opportunities for collaboration to mutual benefit. We suggest that academic attachment discourse would benefit from clarification of core terminology, including: "attachment", "internal working model", "trauma", and "dysregulation". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous research has suggested that people with a history of offending have worse health compared to non-offenders, but it is less clear whether all types of offenders are at similar health risks. In a New Zealand birth cohort study, Moffitt evidenced three main offending trajectories-life-course-persistent (LCP), adolescence-limited (AL) and late-onset (LO) offending, subsequently confirmed in other substantial longitudinal studies.Aims: Our aim was to explore the relationship between these offending trajectories and both self-reported (SR) and general practitioner (GP) (primary care) recorded health indicators.Methods: Self-reported medical data at age 48 were obtained for 394 men followed since age 8 years in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. In addition, medical records were obtained from GPs for 264 of them. Health indicators from both sources were compared between each of the three established trajectories of offenders across the life course-LCP, AL, LO and the non-offenders.Results: LCP offenders were found to have over twice the likelihood of disabling medical conditions according to both self-report and GP records. They were also more likely to have GP records indicating mental health problems and treatment for them. According to GP records alone, the LO offenders were also more likely to have mental health problems. The health of AL offenders appeared to be no different from that of the crime-free controls.Conclusions: Our findings add weight to the growing evidence that LCP offending and offending that only occurs relatively late in life are likely to be the indicators of generally unhealthy and disrupted lives. This suggests that if lifestyle is to change for the better, interventions are likely to be needed for health as well as antisocial behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study systematically assessed children's disclosure processes and lawyers' questioning about children's disclosures in the courtroom. We analysed transcripts of 72 trials in which 5- to 17-year-old children testified as alleged victims of sexual abuse and found that children typically delayed disclosing abuse for over 6 months, with the length of delay greater when the alleged perpetrator-victim relationships were closer. When questioning children about disclosure, prosecutors used more directive and option-posing questions, and sought to establish the plausibility, credibility, reliability, and consistency of children's disclosures. On the other hand, defence lawyers used more suggestive questions than prosecutors, and sought to undermine children's testimony by accusing them of lying or being coached. Children's responses to questions about their disclosure differed depending on who was questioning them: notably, children contradicted themselves more during cross-examinations than direct-examinations. Both prosecutors and defence lawyers tended to ask developmentally 'risky' questions, illustrating the difficulties that may arise when attempting to achieve a balance between securing accurate testimony and protecting the right of defendants to challenge the evidence against them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]