Children who commit or attempt to commit violent crimes such as homicide

These youth come to our attention through their contacts with public safety , law enforcement , juvenile court , and corrections . In spite of their exposure to multiple sanctions , sometimes including incarceration many antisocial youth continue along the path to adult criminality and sometimes violence (Conklin , 2007

Generally , warning signs of their prior exposure to environmental risks are clearly in evidence early on in the lives and school careers of antisocial children and youth . These signs are reflected in the behavioral characteristics of many at-risk children at the point of school entry and become

elaborated during the elementary school years

Implementing School-Based Interventions

Persistence in the previous risk factors over time is strongly associated with a host of negative developmental outcomes including delinquency , school failure and dropout , drug and alcohol abuse , peer rejection , and sometimes violence . It is difficult at best and often impossible to impact the environmental risk factors and conditions that produce these behavioral manifestations in at-risk children and youth (Shumaker Prinz , 2000

It is of critical importance to intervene as early as possible in the lives of children and youth at risk for the development of antisocial behavior patterns . Comprehensive early intervention involving families and schools has proven to be an effective practice in diverting at-risk children from this path (Vance , Fernandez Biber , 1998

Intervene as Early as Possible . It is of critical importance to intervene as early as possible in the lives of children and youth at risk for the development of antisocial behavior patterns

Address Both Behavioral Risks and strengths . It is extremely important to address the behavioral risks that antisocial children face because of the destructive impact they produce on the social environment (e .g teacher and peer rejection , school failure . The primary intervention focus with antisocial students in the school setting should be on the simultaneous...