Depression and anxiety outcomes of offending trajectories: A systematic review of prospective longitudinal studies

<p>Background: Earlier research has studied different typologies of offending (e.g., adolescence-limited, late-onset, life-course-persistent), but little is known about the mental health problems of different offender groups.</p> <p>Objectives: This paper presents a comprehensive review of the literature on the link between developmental</p> <p>trajectories of offending and adult mental health outcomes (i.e., anxiety and/or depression).</p> <p>Methods: A meta-analysis was carried out to synthesize information on different offender types and associated</p> <p>adult mental health problems. Analyses were based on data from prospective longitudinal studies.</p> <p>Results: A total of 158 reports relating to 53 longitudinal studies were screened. Twenty-one reports were included</p> <p>in the systematic review and nine reports were included in the meta-analysis. Compared to non-offenders, the odds for mental health problems were nearly three-times higher for life-course-persistent offenders (OR=2.72; CI: 2.18 to 3.40) and almost twice as high for late-onset offenders (OR=1.70; CI: 1.37 to 2.12). Adolescence-limited offenders suffered the least mental health problems (OR=1.41; CI: 1.16 to 1.71).</p> <p>Conclusions: Different offender groups face varying probabilities of mental health problems. Implications for</p> <p>policy and practice are discussed. More research needs to empirically investigate how and when poor mental health is related to chronic and persistent offending.</p>