![]() ![]() Cohen (1998) estimated that, in the United States, a single youth who follows the early-starter pathway and who persists in a criminal career as an adult will cost society at least $1.3 million. Furthermore, they exact an extraordinary cost to society. These youth have a poor prognosis in that they are at risk for a host of negative outcomes during adolescence and adulthood. They are likely to engage in a versatile, wide-ranging set of antisocial behaviors, including both overt and covert delinquency (e.g., Loeber et al., 1993). ![]() Early starters represent approximately 6% of the population ( Offord, Boyle, & Racine, 1991). “Early starters,” (also described as “life-course persistent”) begin their serious antisocial behavior early in childhood, as early as the preschool period, and then continue with antisocial behavior into adulthood (e.g., Moffitt, 1993 Patterson, Reid, & Dishion, 1992). ![]() A distinction has been made between two different developmental pathways leading to adolescent delinquency and conduct problems, based on age-related patterns of antisocial behavior. Children with conduct problems comprise a majority of referrals to outpatient child mental health clinics, have a continuing disruptive impact on the school system, and have a poor prognosis for avoiding antisocial behavior in adolescence and adulthood ( Hinshaw & Lee, 2003 McMahon, Wells, & Kotler, 2006).
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