Antisocial Behaviour Among Adolescents at A Secondary School in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

Problem Statement

Antisocial behaviour in adolescents is generally defined as behaviours resulting from an

individuals inability to respect the rights of others (Frick, 1998; cited in Fortin, 2003). Certain
authors, such as Bonino et al. (2005), define antisocial behavior as behavior targeted against norms,
values, and principles of the community that the individual breaching the standards belongs to.
Farrington (2005), has categorized the social behaviour among childhood and adolescence as a
behavioural disorders, impulsiveness, stealing, vandalism, physical, and psychological aggression,
bullying, running away from home and truant. Moffitt (1993), he believes that the early stage of
delinquent behaviour is antisocial behaviour. Developmental psychology has, through a gradual
process, embraced a view that risk behavior is a normative part of adolescent development (Bonino
et al., 2005; Jessor & Jessor, 1977; Jessor, van den Bos, Vanderryn, Costa, & Turbin, 1995; Moffitt
& Caspi, 2001; Silbereisen, Eyferth, & Rudinger, 1986). This view is based on the fact that up to
50% of children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 17 engage in one or more forms of
such high-risk behavior (Dryfoos, 1990; Smart, Vassallo, Sanson, & Dussuyer, 2004).

Past studies (e.g., Benzies, Harrison & Magill-Evans, 2004; Lee, Chen, Lee & Kaur, 2007)
have shown that anti-social behaviors negatively affect peer relationships, performance in school
and parent-child relationships. The behavioral adjustment and well-being of these young
generations has always been a major concern in Malaysia. Given that they make up a considerable
proportion (32%) of the Malaysian population (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2008), their
growing anti-social problems (e.g., drugs abuse, vandalism, bullying, and gangsterism) could
negate Malaysia's vision to become a developed and progressive nation by the year 2020. In
Malaysia, statistics revealed that there were 14,691 juveniles who were arrested as the result of
committing in different offences from year 2002-2004.

Why does this phenomenon happen? Research showed that dysfunctional parenting, parent
depression (Querido, Eyberg, & Boggs, 2001), marital distress (Bearss & Eyberg, 1998), and
parenting stress (Leung, Leung, Chan, Tso, & Ip, 2005) are related to adolescents antisocial
behaviour. There are many other factors affecting the antisocial behaviour too. These factors
originate either from the childs personal characteristics such as interests, attitude, and
temperament. Other external factors include individuals past experiences, and expectations which
can influence their interpersonal relationships. There is also a link found between environmental
factors with antisocial behaviours. According to Patterson (1992), environmental factors are the
main causes of antisocial behaviour. These factors include parents, peers, and schools which
believed to be able to influence the wholesome development in the child, either in the aspects of
physical, affective, social, and spiritual.

In the Malaysian context, there are very few studies which covered the factors associated
with adolescents antisocial behaviour. It is important to study the risk factors for antisocial
behavior in predicting the antisocial behaviours in adolescence to reduce and prevent youth crime
and deviance. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a research to identify the contributing factors.