A number of years ago I was asked to appear on the Queen Latina television talk show taped in New York City. Because of a book I had written on teen violence, the producers invited me to share my thoughts concerning this topic on a show featuring violent kids. After multiple security checks, I was escorted to a guest green room to wait for make-up and for the television show to begin. One of the producers apologized for having to place me in the same room as the guests. Typically, she explained, I would have my own waiting room, but this was a multiple taping day and rooms were at a premium.

As I scouted out a place to sit, the guests for the show were nervously staring each other down. It didn't take long to figure out that I had entered a room full of antisocial types gang member from the O, a friend of a school shooter, a kid plotting to blow up his school, an angry, pregnant girl who was beaten religiously by her boyfriend, and a young man whose anger and threats earned him a school suspension. As I glanced at the information sheets given to me by the producers concerning the stories of each of these teens, the group dynamic was already forming in the green room. Each teen began jockeying for position to be king of the television hill, ready to entertain America with stories of antisocial acts and to secure his or her 15 minutes of fame.

One of the tallest boys came over and sat down next to me. So who do you want to hurt or kill? he asked with a straight face. Probably you,  I shot back with a knowing look. We both laughed and he went back to his seat.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, the boyfriend of one of the moms came over and sat next to me. I could smell alcohol on his breath and soon realized he was drunk. He proceeded to make sexual advances and I proceeded to have him removed from the green room. The mom's son watched with relief. Then I began to engage the kids in their personal stories. I soon realized a common factor not one of these kids had a father figure in his or her life. One father was in jail, another deported to Mexico and several fathers had abandoned the family when their children were born.

While we talked, the 13-year-old accompanied by the mother of the drunken boyfriend left the green room and soon reappeared in complete Goth make-up and dress with a dog chain around his neck. Sweet and talkative with me prior to make-up, he was now discussing his homicidal impulses and fantasies to blow up his school. I watched his mom shake her head with a desperate and frightened look. \"How did this happen? she whispered to me. I am really scared and don't know what to do. Indeed, how does this happen?

Multiple risk factors

Antisocial behavior has been defined as, ¦ recurring violations of socially prescribed patterns of behavior, such as aggression, hostility, defiance, and destructiveness.1 When this type of behavior occurs early in childhood, it is one of the most accurate predictors of adolescent delinquency.2 If prevention and intervention dont begin early, children will likely develop persistent patterns of antisocial behavior that will remain throughout their lives.3

The development of antisocial behavior in children is influenced by multiple factors that involve multiple contexts. Theories of etiology encompass biological explanations, such as abnormalities in the development of the nervous system to environmental factors. Regardless of cause, consistent risk factors have been identified that cut across class, geographical and/or racial lines. Exposure to identified risk factors seems to be cumulative and increases risk over time.4

Yoshikawa (1994) points to the importance of individual factors such as prenatal difficulties, neurological and biological factors, low verbal abilities and exposure to media violence.5 Other researchers note impulsivity and the inability to self-regulate emotions, low frustration tolerance, need for stimulation and excitement, predisposition to aggressive behavior, alienation, peer rejection and exposure to violence and abuse as risk factors.6

In terms of school, when children experience academic failure, poor aptitude test scores, peer and social rejection, question rules and their validity, show early signs of aggression, lack attachment to teachers, associate with other antisocial children and attend schools with disorganization, ineffective monitoring and dont adapt well or like school, antisocial behavior can develop or be reinforced.7

In 1990, researchers Gerald Patterson and John Reid developed a program called LIFT (Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers) that took parent- training techniques into the classroom. The idea was to help families and schools work together to head off behavior problems in the elementary years. Since risk factors are present in multiple contexts, training teachers, school administrators and parents to work together makes intuitive sense. In fact, schools that teach conflict resolution, emotional self-regulation, anger management and offer mentoring, academic support, group social skills training and counseling help prevent problems by providing a positive school atmosphere and addressing issues that place kids at risk.8

Communities play a role in antisocial behavior development and maintenance when neighborhoods are characterized by social disorganization and violence, community attitudes towards violence are favorable, low community attachment is felt, high rates of vandalism and violence exist, drugs and guns are available and high community turnover takes place.9

Family factors such as parents being convicted of crimes, substance abuse, inconsistent and/or harsh parenting practices, low socioeconomic status, unemployment, family conflict, poor parent-child attachment place,10 parental depression, and lower academic achievement by parents are additional risk factors.11

The green room of the Queen Latina television talk show proved to be representative of another important family variable related to antisocial children father absence or nonparticipation of fathers in the lives of their children.12 Even when stepfathers attempt to fill in the gap for absent dads, their presence does not always mitigate against antisocial problems in children.13 Thus, it appears that stepfathers assume a difficult parenting role and may be in need of specialized parent training aimed at helping them and their wives develop prosaically behavior in their shared parenting responsibilities.

The quality of the attachment with a parent is important to preventing antisocial behavior.14 Parents must not only be present in a Childs life, but be warm, positive and form a bond based of unconditional acceptance and support. In fact, many experts believe that a bond with any prosaically caring adult could make a difference in a Childs life.15 Thus the opportunity for churches and schools to be involved in bonding with at-risk kids is immense. Giving support, purpose, esteem and focusing on a Childs strengths and talents can bring a sense of social competency that may be missing in other parts of a Childs life.

A family perspective

As a family therapist, I have followed the work and research of Gerald Patterson and his colleagues for decades. In years past, this group developed the Oregon Model of treatment for antisocial behavior of children and adolescents at the Oregon Social Learning Center. Patterson and Reid found that the development of antisocial kids could be seen as early as ages two and three.16

The Oregon model is based on social learning theory and its application to families. Patterson et al. believe that antisocial behavior is shaped largely by family and social interactions that reinforce a childs behavior. When family social exchanges are negative, aggressive and coercive, children are inadvertently taught to be verbally and physically aggressive. 17 Consequently, the disposition of early caretakers and the type of coercive environment a child is raised in play a role in the genesis and maintenance of maladaptive behavior.

Patterson applies coercion theory as an explanation of how antisocial behavior develops in families and systems. 18 Coercion theory asserts that children learn coping styles of coercion in families with poor parental discipline practices and coercive styles of child management, especially when conflict is involved.

When parents repeatedly reinforce noncompliant and aversive behaviors in their children (e.g., teasing, tantrums), this leads to problem behaviors. Specifically, a coercive family process develops in which a child is noncompliant and parents respond with extreme measures (e.g., physical violence) to insure compliance. As patterns of noncompliance or child resistance continue, more and more coercion is used and the child learns that control is achieved through aggression and coercion.

The principal of negative reinforcement is important to understanding this application of coercion theory to child development. Reinforcements are consequences that affect the rate of behavior by increasing it. Positive reinforcements involve rewarding consequences and negative reinforcements involve aversive consequences. Reinforcement can occur with the removal or delay of an aversive stimulus (negative reinforcer) or the addition of a positive stimulus (positive reinforcer).

When we apply the concept of negative reinforcement to family interaction patterns, antisocial behavior can result. For example, Meg is asked to clean up the kitchen, refuses, is yelled at by mom, still refuses and throws a tantrum. Mom then, out of frustration, cleans up the kitchen, thus negatively reinforcing Megs refusal to clean the kitchen. In effect, mom has inadvertently reinforced Megs uncooperative task behavior by doing the job herself. Meg learned that her refusal and subsequent tantrums (negative reinforcers) avert her compliance. She acts out and mom gives in and removes the demand. When this type of negative reinforcement cycle is repeated multiple times, maladaptive behavior results. Learning then generalizes to other peer and adult interactions. The child learns that aggression, anger, or violence helps her get her way. The more times negative behavior is reinforced, the more the child acts out.

Treatment and Prevention

Behavioral Parent Training

Because of the importance of early parenting styles and discipline, treatment must focus on teaching effective parent management when children are very young. For example, most children begin to buck their parents directives around 18 months of age. Usually this occurs when a child says NO or runs away refusing to comply with a request. It is at this stage of development that Patterson and Reid believe that effective parenting must begin in order to avoid the development of possible delinquent behavior.

If during this developmental stage, parent stress is high, ineffective, aggressive punishment is used and/or a childs temperament makes compliance difficult, negative reinforcement patterns can begin to be established. The coercive pattern of parenting must be interrupted or prevented and a system of appropriate control, encouragement and effective punishments taught.

In effect, children are taught to do what they are supposed to do using clear and definable limits. The consequences for not obeying are enforced without power struggles. Parent management skills such as time-out, response cost and other behavioral methods are taught as effective ways to discipline. Research shows that appropriate punishment (time-out, lost points, etc.) is needed to reduce antisocial behavior in the long run. In fact, reinforcement of positive behavior such as compliance and cooperation isnt enough on its own.19 Parents must be taught to support prosocial behavior and use effective punishments for antisocial behavior.

The key then is early identification of those families at risk and the provision of behavioral parent training that target coercive parent-child interactions and build prosocial skills. This approach has shown promising results in terms of reducing antisocial behaviors and connecting kids in a more positive way to their families.20

Multisystemic Therapy

In addition to behavioral parent training, multisystemic therapy (MST), which includes all the systems of a childs life, is useful in empowering parents to raise prosocial children. It is an intensive family- and community-based treatment aimed at dealing with mutiple risk factors that create serious antisocial behavior in budding juvenile offenders. The approach treats the child in the context of his complex, larger network of interconnected systems (peer, school, neighborhood, church). Intervention is provided in one or a combination of multiple systems.

Therapists work with children in their home setting and offer support with the goal of empowering families to resolve future problems on their own. Several types of interventions are used (e.g., strategic family therapy, structural family therapy, behavioral parent training, and cognitive behavior therapies). Treatment is individualized, conducted in collaboration with the family and focuses on family strengths.Take help from telephone counselor .

Since the development of antisocial behavior in children appears to be mutisystemic, there is an important role for counselors and the church to play. While therapists may concentrate on behavioral parent training, teaching problem-solving and prosocial behavior patterns to families and schools, churches can provide prosocial models in the way of mentors and coaches for those kids at risk.