The Stability of Antisocial and Delinquent Child Behavior: A Review

Studies on the stability of antisocial and delinquent behavior are reviewed, showing that children who initially display high rates of antisocial behavior are more likely to persist in this behavior than children who initially show lower rates of antisocial behavior. Evidence is presented that chronic delinquents, compared with nonchronic or nondelinquent individuals, tend to have been children who were antisocial in more than 1 setting, who displayed a higher variety of antisocial behaviors, and who showed an early onset of such behaviors. Once high levels of antisocial behavior have been established, youths tend to maintain such levels rather than to revert to lower levels of antisocial behavior. Studies suggest that more children drift into higher levels of antisocial behavior than revert to a lower level. Patterns of antisocial behavior tend to change during preadolescence and adolescence: the number of youths who engage in overt antisocial acts (fighting, disobedience, etc.) declines between ages 6 and 16, whereas in that period the number of youths who engage in covert antisocial acts (theft, alcohol and drug use, etc.) increases. Implications are discussed for the early identification of chronic offenders.