title: Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: a developmental taxonomy.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin at Madison 53706-1611.
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Moffitt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D010553:Personality Development; D012931:Social Environment