Background: Externalizing behaviour occurs in a significant proportion of Dutch children and can have negative consequences in the short and long term. It is therefore important to investigate the...Show moreBackground: Externalizing behaviour occurs in a significant proportion of Dutch children and can have negative consequences in the short and long term. It is therefore important to investigate the underlying factors of externalizing problem behaviour. Externalizing problem behaviour appears to be related to empathy and moral development according to previous research conducted among adults, the current study investigated whether a similar association occurs in children at high risk of developing criminal behaviour. When there is a link between externalizing behaviour, moral development, and empathy, preventive interventions can respond to this and potentially reduce the risk of criminal behaviour later on. Method: Participants were 8- to 13-year-old children with a high risk of developing criminal behaviour (N = 128, 75.8% boys). The at-risk children were recruited through an ongoing early identification and intervention project of the Municipality of Amsterdam, called the Preventive Intervention Team (PIT). To assess the degree of externalizing behaviour in children the Teacher Report Form (TRF) was administered to the teachers. Two self-report questionnaires, the Turiel-test and Empathy Index for Children and Adolescents (IECA), were used to assess moral development and empathy in children. Results: The results indicate that there is no association between a higher moral development and more externalizing behaviour in children at risk for developing criminal behaviour. Also, when it comes to empathy, no mediation effect was detected. Conclusion: In the present study, no significant association was established between externalizing behaviour, moral development or empathy in children at increased risk of developing criminal behaviour. The implications for early identification and intervention studies are discussed. Keywords: Externalizing behaviour; empathy; moral development.Show less
The goal of this research was to gain more insight in the relation between intelligence and proactive aggression of children with high-risk factors for proactive aggression. Previous studies have...Show moreThe goal of this research was to gain more insight in the relation between intelligence and proactive aggression of children with high-risk factors for proactive aggression. Previous studies have indicated a relation between intelligence and proactive aggression. However it was not clear whether it is a direct or an indirect relation. This is the reason why this research has focused on the type of relation, direct or indirect, between intelligence and proactive aggression. Moral development was the mediating factor in this research. The target group consisted of 74 children between the age of 6 and 17 (M = 11.06, SD = 2.83), 72% were boys (N = 53) and 28% were girls (N = 21). The ‘Wechsler Intelligence Scale-III’ (WISC-III) was applied to measure the intelligence. By using the Turiel Questionnaire the moral development was measured. The ‘Instrument for Reactive and Proactive Aggression’ (IRPA) was applied to measure proactive aggression. The results have indicated a significant connection between intelligence and moral development (β = 0.26, t = 2.10, p = .039, R2 = .06). However, the results have indicated no significant direct nor indirect relation between intelligence and proactive aggression. Moral development turned out not to be a mediating factor.Show less
