Peer-reviewed article
From early adversity to juvenile delinquency: The mediating role of marijuana use, PTSD symptoms and inhibitory control in adolescent males.
Edgar Gerardo Alejo Castillo, Jorge Mauricio Cuartas Arias ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how early traumatic experiences lead adolescent boys to juvenile delinquency in Medellín, Colombia. The research found that marijuana use was the strongest pathway from early adversity to delinquency, while PTSD symptoms mainly led to behavioral problems rather than offending. Poor impulse control both directly predicted delinquency and increased risk through marijuana use, though higher IQ offered some protection by reducing marijuana use.
Key points
- Marijuana use was the dominant mediator between early adversity and juvenile delinquency (β = 0.162, p < .001)
- PTSD symptoms predicted externalising behavior problems (β = 0.263, p < .001) but not delinquency
- Inhibitory control deficit predicted delinquency both directly (β = 0.092, p = .043) and indirectly through marijuana use
- Higher IQ protected against delinquency indirectly by reducing marijuana use (β = -0.107, p = .002)
- The model explained 43.5% of variance in juvenile delinquency and 42.8% of variance in behavior problems
Limitations
The study uses a cross-sectional case-cohort design comparing detained and school youth, which cannot establish causality or longitudinal pathways. The sample consists only of adolescent males in one Colombian city, limiting generalizability to other populations and contexts.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Early adverse experiences (EAE) have been linked to posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), externalising behaviour problems (EBP), and juvenile delinquency (JD). This study examined whether PTSS, inhibitory control deficit (ICD), and problematic marijuana use (PMU) operate as parallel mediators between EAE and these outcomes. METHOD: A case-cohort sample of 278 male adolescents aged 14-17 was recruited from a juvenile detention facility (n = 125) and a public school (n = 153) in Medellín, Colombia. Path analysis (WLSMV) was conducted controlling for IQ, age, and SES, complemented by zero-inflated negative binomial modelling. RESULTS: The model showed excellent fit: χ2(4) = 3.22, p = .522, CFI = 1.000, RMSEA = 0.000. PMU was the dominant mediator between adversity and delinquency (β = 0.162, p < .001). PTSS predicted EBP (β = 0.263, p < .001) but not JD. ICD predicted JD directly (β = 0.092, p = .043) and indirectly through PMU (β = 0.070, p = .037). IQ protected against JD indirectly through PMU reduction (β = -0.107, p = .002). The ZINB confirmed that PMU predicted both the onset (OR = 0.19, p < .001) and frequency (IRR = 1.31, p < .001) of offending. The model explained 43.5% and 42.8% of the variance in JD and EBP, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: PTSS and PMU functioned as parallel but distinct mediators between EAE and EBP. Only PMU mediated the EAE-JD relationship. The dissociation between PTSS effects on EBP versus JD suggests that substance use prevention may be a more effective way for reducing juvenile offending.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- None; this is an observational study examining mediating pathways
- Population
- 278 male adolescents aged 14-17 in Medellín, Colombia (125 from juvenile detention facility, 153 from public school)
Key finding
Marijuana use mediated the relationship between early adversity and delinquency
Castillo et al. · PubMed (US National Library of Medicine) · 10 Jul 2026