Contributors to Antisocial Behavior in Adolescence from the Perspective of Developmental Psychology: A Case Study on a School Mass Shooting

Abstract

As the number of school shooting cases has witnessed a rapid growth in the past several years, there is an increasing concern about the massively growing juvenile crime rate. Some researchers have found that juvenile offenders have misfits, problems in dealing with interpersonal relationships, and resentment toward society and others, and an increasing number of adolescents have engaged in juvenile crimes such as mass school shooting, jeopardizing the social stability and leaving severe trauma on those who are involved in such incidents. The current study conducted a case study on a school shooting in a U.S high school with an aim to determine the causes of such incidents that happen repeatedly in society in recent years. It is found that the adverse family environment, represented by High-Intensity Parental Dispute (HIPD), parent’s negligence and insure child-parent attachment, is the main cause that contributes to juvenile offenders’ lack of empathy and concern for others, leading to aggression and antisocial behaviors. Based on the results of the study, suggestions have been proposed to prevent the formation of antisocial behavior from the perspective of developmental psychology and reduce the juvenile delinquency rate from four aspects: parental, clinical, school, and judicial.