ABSTRACT
Understanding the causes of aggressive and antisocial behavior has long been a priority of social science research. There are a number of reasons for the importance placed on such research. For example, antisocial youth often have numerous and severe psychosocial impairments including deficient educational achievement, poor social relationships, significant conflict with parents and teachers, involvement with the legal system, and high rates of emotional distress (Frick, 1998). As a result, chronic and severe antisocial behavior is one of the more debilitating forms of childhood psychopathology (Lambert, Wahler, Andrade & Bickman, 2001). In addition, antisocial and delinquent behavior in youth is very costly to society, and these costs are both monetary and social (Zigler Taussig, & Black, 1992). The monetary costs include those associated with incarceration to prevent further offending for those youth who commit serious delinquent acts and the costs of repairing schools due to vandalism. The social costs include the inadequate and unsafe learning environments in schools created by the behaviors of antisocial youth and the reduced quality of life for the victims whose rights have been violated by the actions of these youth and for others living in high-crime neighborhoods.
