| This study investigated the risk factors associated with aggressive behavior among serious adolescent female offenders. Specifically, the study evaluated the influence of (1) Borderline traits; (2) psychopathology, and (3) victimization on both overt and relational expressions of aggression. Participants included 121 adolescent girls, aged 13 to 19 years, incarcerated at a juvenile correctional facility in Virginia. Data were collected through self-report instruments, structured interviews, and a review of correctional records. Measures of prior physical victimization, psychopathology, Borderline Personality (BP) traits, relational and overt aggression were included. SEM analysis indicated that overt and relational aggression were best conceptualized as distinct but related constructs. Surprisingly, psychopathology was not significantly linked to higher levels of either form of aggression. Finally, and most importantly, a complex relationship emerged between victimization and BP traits, in which each added unique prediction power to relational aggression; victimization also predicted the incidence of BP traits. Relational aggression was the strongest predictor of overt aggression measures, while differing measures of BP traits and victimization demonstrated significant prediction of some of the unique variance as measured by observed measures of overt aggression. Findings are discussed in terms of the need for further studies to examine the evolution of aggressive behavior from less serious to more serious forms, as well as the need for further integrated studies in which self and other measures of BP traits, victimization, and aggression are employed. Finally, the implications as they relate to intervention planning for girls within the justice system are discussed. |
