"The Inter-agency Plan for Conduct Disorder/Severe Antisocial Behaviour 2007-2012" (Ministry of Social Development, 2007) is assessed according to the SWOT dimensions of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The document is one of the most important statements for the social services in New Zealand because of the primacy that…

In this paper, the authors highlight features of the social and cultural context which surrounds services to children. Emphasis is given to the point that those who work with children exist within the same cultural landscape occupied by the children, parents and other parents. Whilst this landscape is diverse, it contains certain dominant,…

In this paper, I am going to examine the disorder of psychopathy and consider how genetic anomalies could give rise to the relatively specific neuro-cognitive impairments seen in individuals with this disorder. I will argue that genetic anomalies in psychopathy reduce the salience of punishment information (perhaps as a function of noradrenergic…

Theories of socialization have developed independently of established facts against which to measure their adequacy. Studies showing low levels of skin conductance and slow latency of response among criminals have supported a bio-social theory that criminals inherit neurological systems that impede reduction of fear and interfere with learning.…

This paper discusses social and emotional development during childhood and adolescence in the United States, focusing on factors that affect children's prosocial behavior and the role of parents in promoting such behavior. It is argued that changing family structures, including the growth of single parent families and "latch-key" children, along…

Recounts working with a young client in the Serious Habitual Offender Comprehensive Action Program. Client's reflections offer insight into how youth can use significant events in their lives as pathways to more antisocial behavior. Includes Rolf Loeber's (1990) developmental model that describes how children progress from disruptive to criminal…

During the 1930s, a worldwide depression created a fear of communism and a "law-and-order" mentality. The 1990s, by contrast, are marked by a social void in which guilt is ascribed to no one. As recent TV commercials show, dispensing reasonable consequences in response to negative actions is viewed as socially backward. Too often,…

Drash and Tudor's argument that autism is a contingency-shaped disorder of verbal behavior is logical and consistent with behavioral principles, but the argument's premises have no direct empirical support and some conflicting evidence. The quantity and quality of research needed to support such a theory is compared to that found in the area of…

This book explores factors that contribute to antisocial behavior among students and reviews the literature on preventing and responding to antisocial behavior. Chapter 1, "A Culture of Violence," links the widespread perception that school violence is increasing to a broader culture of violence. Schools are increasingly turning to…