Teen Delinquent Behavior

The good news for parents struggling with a teen’s delinquent behavior is that people naturally grow out of dangerous behavior, such as heavy drinking, drug use, delinquency or crime. (Chen & Kandel, 1995; Moffitt, 1993) The bad news is that not all bad behavior will be outgrown, and a teen can seriously damage their lives in the process.

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A recent survey of 25,000 high school students found that 90% of them admitted to copying test answers, using crib notes, or cheating in some way-about triple the rate found in a 1963 survey. (The Week, 10-24-08, p. 18)

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Nearly half (46%) of teens surveyed say they leave their homes on school nights to hang out with friends, sometimes using drugs and alcohol. Yet only 14% of their parents say their teens leave the home to hang out with friends. (Kornblum, 8-14-08) You do that math.

A recent study on teenage delinquent behavior found that, in the past year...

30% of high school students have stolen from a store
(35% of boys, 26% of girls)

One-fifth said they have stolen something from a friend

23% said they stole something from a parent or other relative

68% cheated on a test in the past year. 38% did so two or more times.

36% said they used the internet to plagiarize an assignment,
up from 33% in 2004

42% overall said they sometimes lie to save money
(49% of boys, 36% of girls)

Virtually all surveyed had lied to a parent about something
significant in their lives.

Despite such responses, 93% of teens surveyed said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character, and 77% agreed with the statement that "when it comes-to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know."

(Crary, 12-1-08)

35% of all 15-year-olds are somewhat or very worried about being treated unfairly by police, and nearly one in five (18%) are worried about being arrested. (Benson et al., 2009)

- Delinquent Behavior -

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It's almost as if there is some unwritten rule somewhere that says teens should break every rule adults try to constrain them with. Actually, there sorta is. A teen's brain is designed to get them out of the nest and out on their own, so it comes with many built-in tendencies towards conflict with adults. They naturally gravitate towards rebellion, and are attracted towards antisocial behavior more so than they will be during any other time in their life. They test their limits and get a thrill from breaking the rules. All this is merely teens doing what they were meant to do.

Yet there is a sometimes murky line between normal teen rebellion and all out delinquency. It's often hard for parents to decipher the difference. These pages should help you better gauge where in the spectrum your own teen's antisocial tendencies reside.