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Psychosocial (im)maturity from adolescence to early adulthood: Distinguishing between adolescence-limited and persisting antisocial behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 November 2013

Kathryn C. Monahan ,
Laurence Steinberg ,
Elizabeth Cauffman  and
Edward P. Mulvey
Kathryn C. Monahan*
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Laurence Steinberg
Affiliation:
Temple University
Elizabeth Cauffman
Affiliation:
University of California, Irvine
Edward P. Mulvey
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Kathryn C. Monahan, Department of Psychology, Sennott Square, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260; E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

In the psychological tradition, desistance from antisocial behavior is viewed as the product of psychosocial maturation, including increases in the ability to control impulses, consider the implications of one's actions on others, delay gratification in the service of longer term goals, and resist the influences of peers. The present study investigates how individual variability in the development of psychosocial maturity is associated with desistance from antisocial behavior in a sample of 1,088 serious juvenile offenders followed from adolescence to early adulthood (ages 14–25). We find that psychosocial maturity continues to develop to the midtwenties and that different developmental patterns of maturation are found among those who desist and those who persist in antisocial behavior. Compared to individuals who desisted from antisocial behavior, youths who persisted exhibited diminished development of psychosocial maturity. Moreover, earlier desistance compared to later desistance is linked to greater psychosocial maturity, suggesting that there is an association between desistance from antisocial behavior and normative increases in psychosocial maturity.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 25 , Issue 4pt1 , November 2013 , pp. 1093 - 1105
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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