ABSTRACT
Research on violent youths has consistently found significant correlations with children’s experiences of abuse and neglect, particularly experiences of chronic abuse from a very young age (Ewing 2001; Karr-Morse and Wiley, 1997). Brazelton (1997, p. xiii) described how “experiences in infancy which result in the child’s inability to regulate strong emotions are too often the overlooked source of violence in children and adolescents.” Children who experience repeated rejections in early childhood may develop a tendency for underarousal of their autonomic nervous systems and a predisposition to antisocial behaviors (Schore, 2003a). On the other hand, children who are physically abused may develop tendencies for excessive arousal of their autonomic nervous systems and a predisposition to show symptoms of disorganized behavior often described as borderline personality disorder (Schore, 2003a).
