Distinguish between life-course-persistent and adolescent-limited pathways to antisocial behavior

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The life-course-persistent (LCP) path describes children who engage in aggression and antisocial behavior at an early age and continue to do so into adulthood (Moffitt et al., 1996). They may display "biting and hitting at age 4, shoplifting and truancy at age 10, selling drugs and stealing cars at age 16, robbery and rape at age 22, and fraud and child abuse at age 30" (Moffitt, 1993, p. 679). Their underlying disposition remains, but the way it is expressed changes with new "opportunities" at different points in development. For these children, antisocial behavior begins early because of subtle neuropsychological deficits that may interfere with their development of language, memory, and self-control, resulting in cognitive deficits and a difficult temperament by age 3 or younger. The adolescent-limited (AL) path describes youths whose antisocial behavior begins around puberty and continues into adolescence, but who later cease these behaviors during young adulthood. This path includes most juvenile offenders whose antisocial behavior is limited primarily to their teen years (Hamalainen & Pulkkinen, 1996). Teens on the AL path display less extreme antisocial behavior than those on the LCP path, are less likely to drop out of school, and have stronger family ties. Their delinquent activity is often related to temporary situational factors, especially peer influences. The behavior of AL youths is not consistent across situations; they may use drugs or shoplift with their friends while continuing to follow rules and to do well in school. Although these children do not display antisocial behavior in childhood, they do experience, like youngsters on the LCP path, greater social adversity and personal risk during childhood relative to other youths, suggesting that the AL pathway is not simply part of normal adolescent development (Roisman et al., 2010).