Structural models of antisocial behavior and during‐treatment performance for probationers in a substance abuse treatment program

Abstract

Prior research has linked substance abuse and antisocial behavior. This study uses structural models to examine developmental stages of antisocial behavior and their relation to during‐treatment performance of probationers in a 4‐month inpatient program. Separate childhood and adulthood antisocial functioning components were identified, and each predicted during‐treatment psychological functioning and program perceptions. Specifically, adulthood hostility predicted psychological functioning, and adulthood risk‐taking predicted program perceptions; the effect of childhood antisocial behavior was completely mediated by adulthood functioning.