Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health 

About: Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health is an academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Poison control & Cancer. It has an ISSN identifier of 0957-9664. Over the lifetime, 2178 publications have been published receiving 42669 citations. The journal is also known as: CBMH & CBMH. Criminal behaviour and mental health (Online).

Some benefits of dichotomization in psychiatric and criminological research

Abstract: Background The product-moment correlation r is widely used in criminology and psychiatry to measure strength of association. However, most criminological and psychiatric variables contravene its underlying assumptions. Aim To compare statistical measures of association based on dichotomous variables with the use of r. Method Explanatory variables for delinquency are investigated in the Pittsburgh Youth Study using a sample of 506 boys aged 13–14. Results Dichotomization does not necessarily cause a decrease in measured strength of associations. Conclusions about the most important explanatory variables for delinquency were not greatly affected by using dichotomous as opposed to continuous variables, by different dichotomization splits, or by using logistic versus OLS multiple regression. Non-linear relationships, interaction effects and multiple risk factor individuals were easily studied using dichotomous data. Conclusions Dichotomization produces meaningful findings that are easily understandable to a wide audience. Measures of association for dichotomous variables, such as the odds ratio, have many advantages and are often more realistic and meaningful measures of strength of relationship than the product-moment correlation r. Copyright © 2000 Whurr Publishers Ltd.

The search for the age of 'onset' of physical aggression: Rousseau and Bandura revisited

Abstract: Background Studies of aggression often confound physical aggression with verbal aggression, indirect aggression, relational aggression, opposition, competition and other externalizing behaviours. Developmental models of aggression have suggested that onset of physical aggression occurs after the onset of hyperactive, stubborn and oppositional behaviour. Yet little is known about the onset and development of physical aggression before school entry. Method The age of onset and frequency of physical aggression was studied in a population sample of 17-month-old children. Results The 511 maternal reports on 11 physically aggressive behaviours indicated that the rate of cumulative onset of physically aggressive behaviours increased substantially from 12 to 17 months after birth. By 17 months of age, onset of physical aggression was reported for close to 80% of the children. However, the sex of the child and the presence of a sibling appeared to influence age of onset. Conclusions These results, and those of other studies of preschool children, suggest that the notion of increased probability of ‘onset’ of physical aggression as children approach adolescence needs to be reconsidered. Most children have had their ‘onset’ of physical aggression by the end of their second year after birth, and most have learned to inhibit physical aggression by school entry. Thus, there may be two main developmental trajectories of physical aggression: childhood limited, and life-course persistent. This may be an indication that there is a sensitive period for learning to inhibit physically aggressive behaviour. To understand and prevent cases of chronic physical aggression, which appear most at risk of violent criminal behaviour, we need to study the factors which help children learn to inhibit physical aggression during the preschool years. Copyright © 1999 Whurr Publishers Ltd.

Hsa_circ_0001649: A circular RNA and potential novel biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract: Background It has been shown that circular RNA (circRNA) is associated with human cancers, however, few studies have been reported in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Objective To estimate clinical values of a circular RNA, Hsa_circ_0001649, in HCC. Methods Expression level of hsa_circ_0001649 was detected in HCC and paired adjacent liver tissues by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reactions (qRT-PCRs). Differences in expression level of hsa_circ_0001649 were analyzed using the paired t-test. Tests were performed between clinical information and hsa_circ_0001649 expression level by analysis of variance (ANOVA) or welch t-test and a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was established to estimate the value of hsa_circ_0001649 expression as a biomarker in HCC. Results hsa_circ_0001649 expression was significantly downregulated in HCC tissues (p = 0.0014) based on an analysis of 89 paired samples of HCC and adjacent liver tissues and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.63. Furthermore, hsa_circ_0001649 expression was correlated with tumor size (p = 0.045) and the occurrence of tumor embolus (p = 0.017) in HCC. Conclusions We first found hsa_circ_0001649 was significantly downregulated in HCC. Our findings indicate hsa_circ_0001649 might serve as a novel potential biomarker for HCC and may function in tumorigenesis and metastasis of HCC.