Positive schooling found to prevent antisocial behaviour

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, which looked at how children from high-risk backgrounds can avoid becoming antisocial, found young children who had school friends, supportive teachers and took part in school activities and clubs, were up to 79 per cent more likely to grow up "pro-social".

Good parenting skills were also found to protect under-nines from becoming antisocial, but school experience was the most influential.

The study also found that almost 90 per cent of high-risk children from families experiencing problems did not develop antisocial behaviour.