Head Injuries and Changes in Delinquency from Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood: The Importance of Self-control as a Mediating Influence

Objectives:The current study examines whether head injuries suffered earlier in the life course are associated with subsequent changes in self-control and delinquency.Methods:Latent growth curve models and path analysis are used to analyze the developmental trajectories of self-control and delinquency as well as the potential associations between head injury, self-control, and delinquency among a sample of youth offenders from the pathways to desistance study.Results:The results revealed significant associations between head injuries and short-term changes in self-control and subsequent increases in aggressive delinquency. Indirect pathway models revealed that lower levels of self-control significantly mediated the association between head injuries and starting levels in aggressive delinquency. The association between head injuries and changes in aggressive delinquency was also significantly mediated by self-control, but the association was negative, indicating that youth who previously suffered head inju...