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...explore the relationship over time between primary group deficiency and general well as violent persistent offending, 100 male juvenile detainees were interviewed in 1980. The extent to which these youth regarded their attachments and social structures as adequate was determined. When compared with other documented demographic samples, deficiencies were found. In addition, levels of anxiety and neuroticism were assessed and found to be elevated, with more than half the sample recording a high to extreme level of anxiety, a level that is typically observed in only 5% of the general population. In 2002, the participants' convictions over the previous 22 years were determined. The results reveal that participants who demonstrated inadequate social attachment--an indicator of primary group deficiency--were more likely to have greater number of convictions at follow-up and were more likely to engage in violent rather than non-violent crimes compared to participants with adequate social attachment. In addition, elevated anxiety predicted long-term persistent offending. The findings contribute to psychosocial aetiological theories of general and violent long-term persistent offending and provide implications for prevention and management programs.

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A search of the classical and contemporary criminological literature reveals numerous investigations into risk factors for persistent offending. Empirical studies have found associations between persistent offending and low socioeconomic status, unemployment, as well as low level of education (e.g., Farrington, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1998; Farrington et al., 1990; Farrington & Hawkins, 1991; Farrington & West, 1993; Ludwig, 2000; McDowell & Smith, 1999).

Many constructs have been invoked to explain the sources of persistent offending. Examples in the sociological literature include social isolation (e.g., Adler & Laufer, 1995; Durkheim, 1951, 1964); social incongruence (e.g., Agnew, 1992; Cohen, 1966; Merton, 1957), social disintegration (e.g., Lukes, 1973), social learning (e.g., Akers, 1977; Bandura & Ribes-Inesta, 1976), inadequate parenting (e.g., Homel et a1.,1999; Weatherburn, 2001), differential association (Cressey, 1964; Sutherland, 1956), family and neighbourhood influences including delinquent and criminal subculture (e.g., Cohen, 1970; Sampson, 1997), and emotion regulation (e.g., Barber, 1996; Repetti, Taylor, & Seeman, 2002). Psychological constructs include personality states and traits (e.g., Andrews, 1999; Eysenck, 1977), including antisocial personality (e.g., Hare, 1998; McCord, 1983) and self-control (e.g., Akers, 1991; Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990; Lilly et al., 1995). Associations have also been found between persistent offending and biological factors (e.g., Beirne & Messerschmidt, 1995; Lombroso, 1959), and biochemical factors (e.g., Walsh, 2001 ; Windham, 2001a, 2001b).

The consistency of these relationships varies considerably and a variety of interpretations have been offered for the findings. However, among the psychosocial risk factors, a common theme is the absence of adequate social ties or social support--such as low availability and inadequacy of attachment and social integration--coupled with high levels of neuroticism, usually anxiety reactions.

The concept of primary group deficiency (PGD), a psychosocial construct, was derived from research conducted by Henderson, Duncan-Jones, McAuley and Ritchie (1978) on social networks of psychiatric patients with non-psychotic psychiatric disorders. They proposed the term to identify situations where social support is scarce; that is, the density and emotional quality of the individual's relationship with the primary group is deficient. PGD does not only entail inadequate social attachments and support structures, but also considers the dispositional factors that preclude this support. Specifically, PGD underscores the role of neuroticism and anxiety (Brown, Bhrolchain, & Harris, 1975; Henderson, 1974; Henderson et al., 1978; Miller & Ingham, 1976). For example, excessive anxiety in early childhood has been shown to impair development of social relationships, especially to significant individuals (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Bowlby, 1961, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1982a, 1982b, 1988; Fenichel, 1982; King, Ollendick, & Tonge, 1995; PDM Task Force, 2006). This impairment later undermines the capacity of these individuals to develop secure attachment bonds and adaptive social relationships in adult life (Baumeister & Tice, 1990; Blackburn, 1993; Bowlby, 1961, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1982a, 1982b, 1988; Fukuyama, 1999; Putnam, 2000). Compromised social networks are proposed to contribute to PGD. This deficiency, in turn, can further isolate individuals from society, compounding their difficulties and heightening their anxiety (Fenichel, 1982).

Henderson, Byrne and Duncan-Jones (1981) hypothesised that people scoring high on neuroticism (see Eysenck & Eysenck, 1977) would be more likely to develop neurotic symptoms when exposed to adverse experiences and report their social relationships as inadequate for their interpersonal requirements. They concluded that the trait of neuroticism would affect a person's capacity to form and maintain social relationships, and that a person scoring high on neuroticism would be more likely to perceive social relationships, both close and more diffuse, as less adequate. These associations, according to Henderson and colleagues, might arise became both neuroticism and a perception of social relationships as inadequate may derive from developing an anxious attachment in which individuals, from a very early age, are 'prone to show unusually frequent and urgent attachment behaviour' (Bowlby, 1973, p. 211), or could also relate to avoidant attachment characterised by discomfort with psychological intimacy and a desire to maintain psychological independence (Rholes & Simpson, 2004).

PGD has been argued to predict maladaptive behaviour towards the social environment (e.g., Roazen, 1970). According to Henderson (1977) and Henderson and colleagues (1978), the core attachments to the primary group of a person fulfil psychosocial needs that, if deficient, might, according to Barnes (1954) direct loyalty away from society. Thus, individuals who operate in a state of PGD are more likely to engage in persistent offending. Herein PGD, which could potentially be a vital determinant of long-term general as well as violent persistent offending behaviour, is defined as inadequate social attachment and integration as well as high levels of neuroticism presenting as anxiety reactions.

Defining persistent offending is a vexed and difficult task because of both conceptual and methodological complications. For example, does persistent offending depend upon the number of offences, arrests, or convictions? What is the timeframe? Are the periods of sentences to detention relevant (Laub & Sampson, 2003)? Based on Lynch, Buckman and Krenske's (2003) Queensland study, in this present study, persistent offending is conceptualised as incorporating two distinct aspects. First, juvenile persistent offending refers to at least one admission to detention in a youth training centre as a result of repeated convictions for criminal offences. Second, long-term persistent offending refers to at least one admission to detention in a youth training centre and at least one admission to detention in an adult correctional centre as a result of...

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