14.3 Antisocial Behavior

antisocial behavior

disruptive, hostile, or aggressive behavior that violates social norms or rules

aggression

a subcategory of antisocial behavior intended to physically or emotionally harm others

before 12 months

aggression over desirable possessions — especially behaviours such as trying ti tug objects away from each other — does not involves bodily contact

18 months

• physical aggression normative in development and increases in frequency until about age 2 or 3

  • growth of language skills, physical aggression decreases, and verbal aggression increases

  • most frequent in preschool years — conflicts between peers over possessions and conflict between siblings over almost anything

instrumental aggression

aggression motivated by the desire to obtain a concrete goal

relational aggression

• aggression linked to theory of mind skills, particularly in children with low prosocial skills

• theory of mind skills at age 5 predicted levels of relational aggression 1 year later, but only for children who are rated low to average on prosocial behaviour

physical aggression

• children who are the most aggressive and prone to antisocial behavior in middle childhood tend to be more aggressive and delinquent in adolescents — hold true especially for boys

• many who are aggressive from early in life have neurological deficits

• the frequency of physical aggression decreases for most teenagers, at least after mid-adolescence

biological factors

• twin studies — suggests that antisocial behavior runs in families and is partially due to genetics

• heredity appears to play a stronger role in aggression in early childhood and adulthood than is does in adolescence, when environmental factors are major contributors to it

• in terms of stability of individual differences in aggression and the association of aggression with psychopathic traits, the influence of heredity is greater for proactive aggression

social cognition

• children’s aggressive behaviours are often in reaction to how they interpret social situations

• their goal in such social encounters are also more likely to be hostile and inappropriate to the situations

reactive aggression

emotionally driven aggression sparked by the perception that others’ motives are hostile

proactive aggression

unemotional aggression aimed at fulfilling a need or desire

family influences on aggression

harsh parenting and ineffective discipline increase the likelihood of children's antisocial behavior

parental punitiveness

• often use harsh but non-abusive physical punishment are prone to problem behaviors in early years, aggression in childhood and, criminality in adolescence and adulthood 

• there is probably a reciprocal relation between children’s behavior and their parent’s punitive discipline, especially when parents model aggression for their children by using physical punishment to discipline them

coercive cycles

patterns of interaction in families where children react negatively to parents' discipline attempts

poor parental monitoring

• important because it reduced the likelihood that older children and adolescents will associate with deviant, antisocial peers

• once adolescents begin engaging in aggressive and antisocial behaviors, they become even harder to monitor

parental conflict

exposure to verbal or physical violence between parents linked to increased antisocial behavior in children

socioeconomic status and aggression

low-income families often have more antisocial and aggressive children due to increased stressors

peer influence on aggression and antisocial behavior

• the expression of a genetic tendency towards aggression is stronger for individuals who have aggressive friends

• members of the larger peer group with whom older children and adolescents socialize may influence aggression even more than their close friends do

biology and socialization

often it's a combination of genetic and environmental factors that predict children’s antisocial, aggressive behavior and that some children are more sensitive to the quality of parenting than are others

interventions for aggression

can include psychotherapy, parental involvement, and community-based programs to reduce antisocial behavior