A recent Dear Abby contained a plea from “Afraid in Wisconsin” who expressed concerns about the behavior of a new neighbor’s 11-yr-old son. This letter highlighted the plight of many who live in a suburbia across America: antisocial kids who terrorize their neighborhoods, and the inability to deal with them.

“Afraid in Wisconsin” wrote how new neighbors had built a home on the lot next door and the “antisocial behavior” of their 11-yr-old son. How the boy had tried to coax “Afraid’s” dog into his yard, played roughly with their three small children, and used vulgar language with their 8-yr-old daughter. “Afraid” noted that other neighbors had seen the boy abuse his dog and “other animals”. When “Afraid” had approached the boy’s mother, “Afraid” was told that her son “wouldn’t behave that way”.

Here is Dear Abby’s answer to “Afraid in Wisconsin”:

“DEAR AFRAID: You have described a child who is emotionally disturbed and parents who are in denial. Because the neighbors have seen him abuse animals, a report should be made to the police and the department of animal welfare in your community. This boy has no empathy for others and needs professional help. Until he gets it, you are wise to be concerned about your children. Keep a watchful eye.”

Parents such as “Afraid in Wisconsin” face the same plight that countless other families endure in neighborhoods across America: the effects of an antisocial kid’s behavior on the neighborhood where he resides.

Antisocial Behavior

According to Donald Black, M.D., Antisocial Personality, or ASP, is a disorder related to a “guiltless pattern of social irresponsibility” which begins in early childhood or adolescence. Antisocial behaviors range from “relatively minor acts, such as lying or cheating, to heinous acts, including torture, rape and murder”. Black makes the observation that ASP is rarely acknowledged or recognized:

“As psychiatrist Hervey Cleckley once noted, the antisocial person is “the forgotten man of psychiatry who probably causes more unhappiness and more perplexity to the public than all mentally disordered patients combined.” ”

This also applies to suburbia and the antisocial kids currently terrorizing neighbors and neighborhoods.

Clark wrote that the “causes” of ASP are still unknown. Evidence of ASP, a mental health issue, point to inherited traits, as well as a “hereditary basis”, and environmental factors.

Theories as to the cause of ASP include abnormalities in development of the nervous system whose symptoms may include persistent bed wetting and hyperactivity. Another theory is mothers who smoked during pregnancy resulting in lowered oxygen levels to the fetus.

Abnormal brain function and neurotransmitter serotonin have been linked to impulsive and aggressive behavior.

“Social and home environment” may also be key factors relating to ASP: parents of antisocial kids “show a high level of antisocial behavior”. Homes of ASP kids may include alcoholism, divorce, criminal activity, or an absence of a parent. Parenting may be “erratic or inappropriate discipline and inadequate supervision”. Antisocial parents “lack motivation” in supervising their children. Children raised in this atmosphere can become “self-absorbed” and “indifferent to others” as well as have “little regard for rules”. Lacking proper roles models, ASP kids solve disputes using aggression. ASP kids also fail to develop empathy.

There are many parents who raised their ASP child in a caring and loving environment. These parents face a bewildering and daunting task of getting treatment for a child who has a behavior problem whose cause is still unknown. These parents do not negate the concerns of their neighbors. It’s when neighbors, who are dealing with an ASP kid terrorizing the neighborhood, find the parent, or parents, are in denial or simply “doesn’t care” what their ASP kid is up to when frustration sets in.

The mother of the boy whom “Afraid” wrote Dear Abby about, claimed her son wouldn’t “behave that way”. The mother inferred that “Afraid”, who contacted her about her son’s behavior, was making up “stories” about her son. The mother, who in essence had called “Afraid” a liar, was in denial about her son’s behavior.

“Afraid” encountered what many other neighbors across America have discovered to their dismay: some parents are unwilling to deal with their antisocial kids. This left “Afraid” with the problem of having to deal with a “creepy” kid in the neighborhood who may or may not harm “Afraid’s” children. The dynamics of “Afraid’s” neighborhood had changed from what was once a safe and happy haven to raise one’s kids, to having to “watch” a neighbor’s child in order to protect one’s own children or pets.

“Afraid” wasn’t out in left field with their observation that the boy was “creepy” and capable of harming their children. In December of 2003, an 11-yr-old Woodbridge, N.J., boy was sentenced to 18 years in the New Jersey juvenile justice system. The boy had lured a neighbor’s 3-yr-old son into his backyard and then beat the little boy to death with a baseball bat. The 11-yr-old claimed he killed the little boy because the kid “pestered him” to use his scooter. At his sentencing, the mother of deceased little boy said she was angry that both the boy who killed her son and his father showed “no remorse” over the death of her small son.

According to the New York Times, neighbors described the older boy as “lonely” and “hostile”. The boy’s weapon of choice was a bat: he once hit another kid with one, causing stitches, and also “damaged” a neighbor’s house. He threw rocks at other children and “cursed” older kids. The boy’s reign of terror in the neighborhood ended when he was arrested and charged with the heinous murder of the 3-yr-old boy, bludgeoning him to death with a baseball bat.

While many states have revised their criminal statutes in order to be able to prosecute offenders as young as 13 as adults, there’s a new kind of kid “terrorizing” the suburban neighborhoods of America, kids who display antisocial behavior before they hit their teens.

A Carlisle, Pennsylvania, woman was shocked to discover that the 12-yr-old neighbor boy, charged with raping her 3-yr-old daughter, was let out of a juvenile detention center after a two week stay and a psychological evaluation. He was also allowed to attend school.

According to ABC27.com, the 12-yr-old boy was babysitting the 3-yr-old neighbor girl while her mother ran to the grocery store. When the mother returned she discovered her daughter had been raped. She immediately called the police and then took her little girl to the hospital. The boy, whose court records are sealed, was charged with rape, according to the District Attorney.

When the little girl’s mother confronted the father of the boy who raped her child, he told her that his son “wasn’t a threat to anybody” and that the mother needed to “leave it alone” as well as “worry about her own kids” and “not his”. The parents of the boy also claimed they were “supervising” their child “around the clock”.

The actions of this boy, as well as those of the authorities and his parents, left the peaceful existence of a neighborhood in tatters. The neighborhood now contained an alleged 12-yr-old rapist, whose victim was another neighborhood child just 3-yrs-old. His parents claimed the boy was now being supervised “round the clock”, yet the boy remained free to attend school.

In Michigan, a 13-yr-old boy faced multiple charges in November after he allegedly sexually assaulted an 11-yr-old girl in the neighborhood. He also killed her cat.

An autopsy showed the cat, which wasn’t allowed outside, had multiple liver fractures and hemorrhaging in the lungs and kidney, even though the boy claimed he merely “stepped” on the cat. The boy admitted he “shoved” the girl’s 8-yr-old brother. The shove included the older boy “lifting” the younger boy while he was on his bike and then tossing them to the ground. He then threw a scooter at the younger boy. The older boy also “harassed” the girl’s mother over the phone and as well as “kicking” and “punching” another boy at a school bus stop.

According to MLive.com, when the girl’s mother told the boy’s mother that her son had sexually assaulted her daughter, the boy’s mother “apologized” and that the incident wasn’t reported to the police.

The boy continued to “terrorize” the family as well as an 11-yr-old kid at the bus stop whom the older boy “kicked in the stomach” and “repeatedly punched in the head”.

The boy faces felony convictions as current Michigan law allows prosecutors to seek adult felony charges against offenders as young as 13:

“Livingston County prosecutors said the charges against the 13-year-old include second-degree criminal sexual conduct, a 15-year felony for an adult; animal cruelty or torture, a four-year felony; malicious use of a telephone, a six-month misdemeanor; and two counts of assault and battery, a 93-day misdemeanor. He is scheduled to appear Dec. 10 in Livingston County Juvenile Court.”

Antisocial behavior, such as the boy described by “Afraid” in Wisconsin, doesn’t necessarily preclude that the boy’s behavior will escalate into more serious offenses. Yet his behavior, as well as his mother’s, have, and rightly so, caused fear and concern in the neighborhood, in the form of “juvenile” terrorism. Neighbors with small children, as well as those who own pets, are now forced to be “on guard” against an 11-yr-old boy. The same applies to the neighborhood where the 12-yr-old boy allegedly raped a 3-yr-old neighbor girl. Even though the parents claim they’re “supervising” their son, the fact remains that an alleged rapist, at the tender age of 12, resides next door after only a two week stint in juvenile detention, once again, forcing neighbors to “be on guard”. Even more alarming was the action of the antisocial kid’s parents: the mother of the boy who lives in “Afraid’s” neighborhood inferred “Afraid” was lying about her son, while the father of the alleged rapist warned the mother of his victim to “worry about her own kids” and to “leave it alone”.

Gone are the days when neighbors could scold child offenders while the parents of the kid would render an effective punishment. Neighbors can now be arrested for child abuse if they take matters into their hands, even if they verbally “chew” out the kid.

The actions of some parents of antisocial kids also lead to further frustration:

The father of the 12-yr-old boy who allegedly raped the 3-yr-old girl, was defensive and put the onus on the victims.

The mother of the 13-yr-old boy who allegedly sexually assaulted an 11-yr-old girl, “apologized”, yet her son continued to “terrorize” the family. He killed their cat, harassed the girl’s mother and brother, as well as beat up another kid before the authorities stepped in.

The father of the 11-yr-old boy who murdered the 3-yr-old boy “showed no remorse” that his son had viciously murdered the little tot in their backyard with a baseball bat. The boy, if he serves the maximum sentence, will be free once he turns 35.

The 13-yr-old who sexually assaulted the 12-yr-old girl has been charged as an adult yet any prison sentence will most likely be served in a juvenile justice setting.

The alleged 12-yr-old rapist served two weeks in juvenile detention. He’s already back on the neighborhood streets and attending school.

The boy in “Afraid’s” letter to Dear Abby could potentially be charged with cruelty to animals.

When a perpetrator is a neighborhood kid, it’s the whole neighborhood who is victimized. Ironically, once a neighborhood kid is convicted of a crime, he is considered by the system a victim because he is child.

Psychologists or therapists have yet to address the problems and stresses of the “peripheral” victims of these antisocial kids: neighbors who reside in the same neighborhood. There is little in the way neighbors can respond once an antisocial kid begins a campaign of terrorizing the neighborhood if the ASP kid’s parents are unresponsive and until these kids commit a crime. Unless or until these types of kids commit a crime, neighbors are forced to live maddening and frustrating existence when these “behaviors” are foisted upon them.

Once a kid commits a crime, the system kicks in, and the juvenile ASP criminal, along with his parents, are supplied with psychological evaluations and treatment, while the “peripheral” victims are left to pick up the pieces of their once tranquil lives. If the kid doesn’t commit what is considered a crime, neighbors are forced to live a twilight existence of nowhere to turn when having to deal and cope with antisocial kids and their parents. The fear of most neighbors : that it will be their own children or pet who will be victimized of these antisocial kids. No longer a safe place to live, the neighborhood is “held hostage” to the terror campaign waged by an ASP kid.

By LBG

Source – PsychCentral – What Causes AntiSocial Behavior?
Image – Neighborhood