ABSTRACT
Antisocial behavior during childhood is an important warning sign for continued behavior problems (for example, delinquency or conduct disorder) in adolescence and adulthood (Loeber & Farrington, 2001; Mott, Caspi, Harrington, & Milne, 2002), leading to substantial personal and familial suering and societal costs. Children can engage in a range of antisocial behaviors; however, for the purposes of this chapter we are dening antisocial behavior as acts that would lead to criminal charges if the child were at the age of criminal liability. Some examples of antisocial behavior include: assault, aggression, ghting, physically attacking people, the, cruelty to animals, lying, cheating, and serious violations of rules. However, since many children show variability and desistance from such behaviors over time (Lipman, Bennett, Racine, Mazumdar, & Oord, 1998), it can be dicult to predict which children will continue or discontinue with their antisocial behavior.
