Hyperactive and antisocial behaviors: Comorbid or two points in the same process?

We hypothesized that hyperactivity defines the first stage and that antisoc ial problems define a second stage in a progression that leads eventually t o early-onset delinquency. As expected, a structural equation model (SEM) s howed that a latent construct for hyperactivity was significantly related t o a latent construct for antisocial problems. We hypothesized that this pat h reflected a shared mechanism, disrupted parental discipline. A second SEM showed that the relation between hyperactivity and antisocial behavior rea lly reflected a shared disruption in parental discipline. A third SEM showe d that having antisocial parents was uniquely correlated with antisocial ch ildren but not with hyperactivity. A fourth SEM showed that early-onset del inquency was predicted by a latent construct for antisocial child; bur when this was partialed out, the contribution for hyperactivity was nonsignific ant.