Regular Article Disentangling multiproblem behavior in male young adults: A cluster analysis Josjan Zijlmans 1 , Laura van Duin 1 , Maaike Jorink 2 , Reshmi Marhe 1 , Marie-Jolette A. Luijks 1 , Matty Crone 3 , Arne Popma 1,4 and Floor Bevaart 1 1 Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; 2 Department of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; 3 Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands and 4 Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands Abstract Multiproblem young adults present with major problems across key life domains, but empirical studies investigating the nature of multi- problem behavior in accordance to ecobiodevelopmental theory are scarce. To address this gap, we performed a cluster analysis on indi- cators spanning the key life domains addiction, mental health, social network, and justice. In a large sample (N = 680) of multiproblem young adults, we identified five subgroups labeled “severe with alcohol and cannabis problems” (4.3%), “severe with cannabis problems” (25.6%), “severe without alcohol or drug problems” (33.2%), “moderate with mental health problems” (22.9%), and “moderate without men- tal health problems” (14.0%). Therewere large differences between the severe and moderate groups in terms of childhood risk factors such as emotional and physical abuse, concerning baseline functioning such as comorbid disorders and aggressive behavior, and in the outcome measure of violent offending. Our findings indicate that multiproblem young adult behavior clusters within profiles that differ according to the severity and nature of problems. Investing in screening for clustered problems may be beneficial for early problem differentiation and selection of appropriate intervention before and during treatment programs. Keywords: cluster analysis, delinquency, emerging adulthood, life domains, multiproblem (Received 18 December 2018; revised 5 November 2019; accepted 11 November 2019) The trend that young adults are more gradually making their way into adulthood can be observed in the general population of most high-income countries (Arnett, Žukauskiene, & Sugimura, 2014): youngsters focus on identity exploration, self-development, and preparation of their adult life by taking time to finish their educa- tion, becoming financially independent, and deciding about par- enthood. In 2000, Jeffrey Arnett proposed the term emerging adulthood for this distinct period of the life course, ranging roughly from the late teens through the middle to late 20s (Arnett, 2000). Emerging adulthood is now widely regarded as a critical transitional period, in which transition refers to the neu- robiological process of maturation and the heterogeneous psycho- logical and societal changes that are associated with this process (Davis & van der Stoep, 1997). These changes can be challenging for youngsters, and there is a growing recognition that young adults should be treated as a distinct subpopulation in policy, planning, programming, and research (Stroud, Walker, Davis, & Irwin, 2015). Scholars of stress processes note that although developmental transitions are generally challenging, emerging adulthood particularly can disrupt young lives because many con- secutive (societal) changes are needed (Pearlin, 2010). This is even more so for those with interrelated problems and particularly when risks are high and resilience is low. Longitudinal research has shown that mental disorders (Tanner et al., 2007), comorbid- ity (Newman et al., 1996), and offense rates (Loeber, Farrington, & Petechuk, 2013) increase from childhood through adolescence and peak in young adulthood. However, whereas problem behav- ior in emerging adulthood may peak, there is also evidence that this is usually temporary and most emerging adults are suffi- ciently resilient to reach adulthood healthy. One study on the long-term effects of early mental health and judicial problems showed that even a large percentage of high-risk young adults were in stable marriages and jobs, and were responsible citizens in their community by the time they reached the end of their fourth decade of life (Werner, 2004). In contrast to this predominantly positive trend for most emerging adults, there are vulnerable youngsters who do not undergo this transition successfully, either because they are not able to handle the demanding requirements of this period or because they have more to handle with less support (Osgood, Foster, & Courtney, 2010). These young adults have extensive his- tories of childhood adversities and have often been involved in juvenile care services. These agencies provided long-term support to them and their families with varying effectiveness. During Author for correspondence: Josjan Zijlmans, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Meibergdreef 5, Amsterdam, Netherlands 1105 AZ; E-mail: j.zijlmans@amsterdamumc.nl. © Cambridge University Press 2020 Cite this article: Zijlmans J, van Duin L, Jorink M, Marhe R, Luijks M-JA, Crone M, Popma A, Bevaart F (2020). Disentangling multiproblem behavior in male young adults: A cluster analysis. Development and Psychopathology 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/ S0954579419001652 Development and Psychopathology (2020), 1–11 doi:10.1017/S0954579419001652