Developmental Perspective

Richard Howard; Conor Duggan

doi:10.1017/9781911623892.004

Chapter 3 - Developmental Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2022

Richard Howard and

Conor Duggan

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Richard Howard: Affiliation:
University of Nottingham
Conor Duggan: Affiliation:
University of Nottingham

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Summary

This chapter reviews what is known about the developmental antecedents of adult antisocial personality. It addresses the question of why it is that, while many people may have personality difficulties, a minority develop a severe and persistent dysfunction of personality that is more or less life-long, leading them into a pattern of chronic antisocial behaviour. Findings reviewed in this chapter suggest that the route to adult antisociality is marked by a cascade of developmental roadblocks and insults arising during childhood and adolescence. The authors emphasise the importance of adolescence as a period when things can go seriously awry and personality can deviate from a normal track. They further emphasise the critical importance of substance abuse, particularly the misuse of alcohol, in the genesis of life-course-persistent antisociality. Two possible developmental pathways are described, one predominantly male, the other predominantly female, through which adult antisociality results from adverse circumstances in childhood and adolescence.

Keywords

development adolescence childhood pathways drug abuse alcohol abuse brain injury.

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: Antisocial Personality
Theory, Research, Treatment
, pp. 43 - 58

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781911623892.004 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2022

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