Childhood Aggression, Adolescent Delinquency, and Drug Use: A Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACT

The interrelation of childhood aggression, early and late adolescent delinquency, and drug use was explored. Data were obtained for the subjects when they were 5–10 years old. Follow-up interviews were conducted when the subjects were between 13–18 years old and again when they were 15–20 years old. A LIS-REL analysis of the three waves of data indicated that childhood aggression is a precursor of adolescent drug use and delinquency, and that early adolescent drug use is correlated with contemporaneous delinquency as well as with later drug use and delinquency.