| Numerous researchers have investigated predictors of adolescent antisocial behavior (ASB). These predictors have generally been examined through the lens of social learning theory, with parent-child relations as the primary etiological factor (Patterson et al., 2002). Less attention has been directed to how these predictors, interacting across time and context, are associated with different types of ASB (i.e., overt and covert antisociality). Using an ecological or social contextual perspective (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), I examined how family, peer, and neighborhood factors predicted boys' and girls' antisocial behavior across time.;I examined a subsample of 1,196 respondents (693 boys, 503 girls, M age at Time 1 = 16.04 years, SD = 1.77) from the first two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health; Udry, 1998). The predictor variables (which used multiple reporters) included parental monitoring, adolescents' affiliation with deviant peers, and adolescents' exposure to violence within their community. The eight outcome variables varied by subtype (overt ASB or covert ASB), two time periods, and gender.;A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify the direct, additive, and interactive effects of parents' monitoring of the teen, the teen's deviant peers, and the teen's exposure to community violence in predicting the two subtypes of ASB for both boys and girls. Two interaction terms were created to investigate interactive effects: community violence x parental monitoring and deviant peers x parental monitoring. The additive effects of the predictors were related to all eight outcome variables. The predictor variables collectively accounted for between 13% and 40% of the variance associated with ASB outcomes. Of these, exposure to community violence was the most predictive of ASB. Moreover, parental monitoring moderated the relation between teens' exposure to community violence and Time 2 covert ASB.;These results suggest that social contextual theory provides a useful framework for predicting ASB outcomes, complementing social learning theory. Specifically, parental monitoring was found to be an effective protective factor for only specific populations (girls) and ASB outcomes (covert rather than overt). Furthermore, parental monitoring was found to be an overall weak predictor of ASB in contrast to the other measured predictors. Finally, parental monitoring was not found to attenuate adolescent ASB risk factors. Instead, an interactive effect was found among the parental monitoring and community violence exposure variables for boys who reported committing covert antisocial acts a year later. Clinical implications from these results are offered and suggestions for clinicians working with antisocial youth. Limitations of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed. |
