Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy.
1993/01/01 by Terrie E. Moffitt · 9,906 citations
Medicine · Psychology · #Antisocial personality disorder #Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression #Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development #Cognition #Developmental psychology #Injury prevention #Juvenile delinquency #Life course approach #Medicine #Neuropsychology #Normative #Personality #Poison control #Psychiatry #Psychology #Psychopathy #Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending #Social psychology
paper · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.100.4.674
published in Psychological Review 100(4), 674-701 (American Psychological Association)
openalex publication_date 1993/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Abstract
A dual taxonomy is presented to reconcile 2 incongruous facts about antisocial behavior: (a) It shows impressive continuity over age, but (b) its prevalence changes dramatically over age, increasing almost 10-fold temporarily during adolescence. This article suggests that delinquency conceals 2 distinct categories of individuals, each with a unique natural history and etiology: A small group engages in antisocial behavior of 1 sort or another at every life stage, whereas a larger group is antisocial only during adolescence. According to the theory of life-course-persistent antisocial behavior, children's neuropsychological problems interact cumulatively with their criminogenic environments across development, culminating in a pathological personality. According to the theory of adolescence-limited antisocial behavior, a contemporary maturity gap encourages teens to mimic antisocial behavior in ways that are normative and adjustive.
Citations
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