Delinquency and Antisocial Behavior in Childhood

Delinquency and Antisocial Behavior in Childhood
Name
Course
Institution
Date
Delinquency and Antisocial Behavior in Childhood
Delinquency refers to criminal behavior committed by a minor such as unruly behavior. However, in the educational field, such behaviors are termed as antisocial behavior. Most studies of antisocial and delinquent behavior have shown that children who display high rates of antisocial behavior are more likely to show persistence in such behaviors than children with lower rates of antisocial and delinquent behavior (Ronald, 1991). Children who are delinquents in more than one setting show a variety of antisocial and delinquent behavior. Once high levels of antisocial behavior has been established, children tend to maintain such high levels rather than to revert to lower levels. Thus, the patterns of antisocial behavior tend to change during the preadolescent and adolescent stage of child development. Some of the children who exhibit antisocial and delinquent behaviors are often disobedient and arrogant. However, such activities decline between six years and sixteen years, a period in which children engage themselves in severe antisocial acts such as crime, alcohol, and substance abuse (Shoemaker, 1990).
According to self control theory, delinquency is defined as the behavior consequent to failure of personal and social controls. Personal control is the ability of an individual to refrain from meeting needs in a manner that conflicts with a community’s norms and values. Hence, social control is the ability of social groups to make the societal norms to be effective. For example, a sample profile drawn from a delinquent child known as George Washington, male, aged 9 years, currently in class 3. The boy shows antisocial behavior through various activities such as initiating fights in school, physical cruelty, bullying, using weapons, destruction of other peoples’ property and fire setting. Thus, by committing many delinquent acts, the boy is at risk of developing chronic delinquency (Ronald, 1991).
The strongest factor associated with delinquency is the history of antisocial behavior in his childhood, prenatal difficulties, neurological and biological factors, low verbal ability, social disorganization, substance abuse and criminality among parent, poverty and exposure to media violence. The child shows antisocial behavior in response to a particular stressor, hence, he is exposed to increased risks of accidents, school failure, early drug abuse, criminal behavior, and suicide. The child displays characteristics of impulsiveness and low esteem and appears to have feelings and shows no care for others feelings or remorsefulness in hurting other people.
Antisocial behavior is developed by children as a means of defensive mechanism to prevent them from painful feelings and to avoid anxiety triggered by lack of control of the environment. According Shoemaker (1990) antisocial behavior is rein...