Adolescents' antisocial behaviors: Protective and risk factors

Adolescent antisocial behaviors within and out of school contexts that cause significant physical and psychological problems both in adolescence and adulthood are considered significant problem behaviors. Given that studies on antisocial behaviors are generally based on childhood and pre-adolescence, these behaviors reach the peak during adolescence and affect adult physical and psychological health show the importance of investigating these behaviors during late adolescence as well. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the relationships between individual features, parenting behaviors, peer relations, neighborhood features, and adolescent antisocial behaviors. Participants consisted of 882 high school students (X̄=15.53, SD=1.29, 597 girls), aged between 13 and 19, studying at high schools in the central district of Uşak. Among the subtypes of antisocial behaviors; adolescents with single parents had higher levels of physical aggression, boys had higher levels of rule-breaking behaviors than girls. There were significant group differences between gender, grade level, school success, mother and father education, number of siblings in terms of relational aggression. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that age and parental relationship status predicted girls' antisocial behavior, age and mother education predicted boys' antisocial behavior, gender predicted antisocial behaviors of adolescents in schools with low achievement levels, and age predicted antisocial behaviors of adolescents in schools with moderate success. Resiliency, callous-unemotional traits, and negative coping strategies among individual features, and poor monitoring and discipline behaviors among parenting behaviors predicted antisocial behaviors. However, peer relations and neighborhood features were not associated with antisocial behaviors. The results and limitations of the study were discussed along with implications for future research and practice, and suggestions were made for practitioners.