Antisocial Behavior

20 Pages 5115 Words

minent and repeated cause I read about involved the child’s family life and the parenting they received early in life. For example, children are more likely to develop antisocial behavior patterns when their parents implement harsh, yet inconsistent discipline, and fail to properly monitor and supervise the children (Ary, 1999). Several other sources also verified this information. In fact, the Harvard Mental Health Letter described numerous other risk factors from within a child’s home setting. For instance, being raised in a chaotic and destructive environment, lack of supervision, and lack of reliable emotional bonds and models of responsible behavior (Harvard, 2000).
On the other hand, conduct disorder may also develop outside the home environment. School settings, for example, can promote antisocial behavior by creating a punitive atmosphere for adolescents. In his article, Antisocial Behavior: Its Causes and Prevention Within Our Schools, G. Roy Mayer describes the components of these environments which includes: “an over-reliance on punitive methods of control, unclear rules for student deportment, weak or inconsistent administrative support for staff in carrying out student discipline, academic failure experiences, not assisting students lacking critical social skills that form the basis of doing well academically and relating positively to others, a misuse of behavior management procedures, and a lack of student involvement (Mayer, 2001).” Lastly, I would like to point out that conduct disorder is also associated with increased levels of emotional distress (Pardini, 2003).
Next, one of the topics I found the least research on was preventative methods for antisocial behavior. I believe prevention and treatment options should obviously be the main focus of research in order to help prevent children from developing this behavior disorder and assist those who are already struggling with it. But I did find a...