Early Disruptive Behavior
The preschool period is critical in setting a foundation for preventing the development of disruptive behavior and, eventually, child delinquency. There are four primary reasons why the preschool period may have important implications for understanding and preventing very young offending:
- Disruptive problem behavior, including serious aggression and chronic violation of the rights and property of others, is the most common source of referral to mental health services for preschool children (Keenan and Wakschlag, 2000).
- Studies have documented a predictive relationship between problem behaviors in preschool and later conduct disorder and child delinquency (Silva, 1990).
- Many important developmental skills (such as language development) begin during this period, and difficulties in developing these skills may weaken the foundation of learning and contribute to later disruptive behavior and child delinquency (Keenan, 2001).
- Understanding the early emergence of problem behaviors may help in the creation of earlier, effective interventions for the prevention of child delinquency (Kazdin and Kendall, 1998).
Behaviors that place a child at risk for an early career of disruptive behavior and child delinquency may be present as young as 2 years of age (Keenan, 2001). Although the majority of child delinquents have a history of disruptive behavior—such as aggressive, inattentive, or sensation-seeking behavior in the preschool period—the majority of preschoolers with such behavior problems do not go on to become young offenders. The following factors may affect the development of pro- and antisocial behavior during preschool and beyond:
- Language is the primary means by which parents and others affect children’s behavior. Delayed language development may increase a child’s stress level, impede normal socialization, and be associated with later criminality up to age 30 (Stattin and Klackenberg-Larsson, 1993).
- Temperamental characteristics are individual predispositions for certain behavior characteristics that can be modified by environmental influences (Goldsmith et al., 1987). Difficult temperament (predominance of negative moods such as anger and difficulty in controlling behaviors and emotions) early in life may be a marker for the early antecedents of antisocial behavior and behavior problems (Earls and Jung, 1987; Prior et al., 1993; Guerin, Gottfried, and Thomas, 1997).
- Low attachment to caregivers, as in the early mother-infant bond, plays an important role in later behavior and delinquency problems (Egeland and Farber, 1984; Adams, Hillman, and Gaydos, 1994). The closer a child is to the mother, the less likely a child is to be at risk for delinquency.
Understandably, one of the difficulties in dealing with preschool children is the use of inappropriate labels such as “disruptive” for behaviors that may be developmentally normal. For example, aggression, noncompliance, and lying are common behaviors in the second year of life and are part of the development of self-identity, self-control, and understanding the nature of social relations (Landy and Peters, 1992; Kuczynski and Kochanska, 1990; Achenbach and Edelbrock, 1981). Another issue is whether young children are able to commit willful acts of aggression. A number of developmental researchers have demonstrated that preschool children do have a basic understanding of the impact of their behavior on others and can control their behavior based on internalized social norms (Kochanska, Murray, and Coy, 1997). Overall, the Study Group found sufficient evidence to conclude that some preschool children can engage in very serious antisocial behavior and that, in some but not all cases, preschool behavior problems foreshadow early delinquency.
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