Terms used to describe deviant behavior in children and teens

Terms used to describe deviant behavior in children and teens

Juvenile delinquency is a term used to describe a situation in which a minor or a person aged between 10 to 18 years has committed a crime or broken the law. When a person below 18 years of age breaks the law, this is not called a crime as is the case with adults. Rather, criminal acts committed by minors are referred to as delinquent acts. Instead of undergoing trials, minors who break the law undergo adjudication then they receive a disposition which is followed by a sentence. Acts of juvenile delinquency are divided into two. First, actions which would be considered a crime if an adult did them in particular serious crimes such as homicide. Second, actions which would not be considered a crime if carried out by adults such as staying up past bedtime or failing to attend school (Regoli et al., 2016).

Antisocial behavior is a term which covers a wide variety of socially unacceptable behavior that has the potential to cause harm to an individual, the community or even the environment. It could also be the acts of someone else which leaves the victim feeling distressed, alarmed or even harassed. The term is also used to describe the fear of crime or concern for the safety of the public, public nuisance or public disorder. There many types of behavior which may be classified as antisocial and this includes public nuisance due to inconsiderate of rowdy neighbors, street drinking, vandalism or graffiti, begging and vagrancy, prostitution, and related activity, misuse of fireworks and inappropriate or inconsiderable use of vehicles. When one experiences antisocial behavior or is concerned about it, they should contact their local council or call non-emergency numbers that are available to the public (Wertz et al., 2016).

Externalizing problem behaviors is a term used to describe negative or derogative behavior that is directed towards a person’s external environment. A good example of such kind of behavior is when a student disobeys school rules, shows physical aggression and threatens other students. Instead of opting to express their negative emotions or reactions to life pressures in a normal and healthy way, individuals with externalizing behavior direct their negative feelings outwards to other things or people. Examples of such kind of behavior include fighting, stealing, cursing, arson, destruction of property, underage drinking, running away from home, impulsive behavior and refusal to follow written rules or curfews. Such kind of negative behavior can be seen in children from as early as two years of age.

Conduct disorder is acknowledged as a serious emotional and behavioral and emotional disorder which occurs in children and in teens. An individual with this disorder may exhibit patterns of violent and disruptive behavior and they may have problems obeying rules. Children and teens normally have behavior problems but when problems are long lasting and violate the rights of others then this can be classified a conduct disorder. This kind of disorder goes against normal behavior and disrupts the individual from everyday life. The symptoms of the disorder vary with age and whether the disorder is mild, moderate or severe.

Juvenile delinquencies, antisocial behavior, externalizing problem behavior and conduct disorder are terms which should not be used interchangeably. The terms describe particular aspects of behavior which in themselves are not connected at all. Though the four terms are used to describe deviant forms of behavior, each of them is specific to the type of behavior exhibited and using the terms interchangeably would give a wrong impression or even make the terms lose meaning.

References

Regoli, R. M., Hewitt, J. D., & DeLisi, M. (2016). Delinquency in society. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Wertz, J., Zavos, H., Matthews, T., Gray, R., Best‐Lane, J., Pariante, C. M., … & Arseneault, L. (2016). Etiology of Pervasive Versus Situational Antisocial Behaviors: A Multi‐Informant Longitudinal Cohort Study. Child development, 87(1), 312-325.