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Encyclopedia of Adolescence pp 1–4Cite as

Acting Out

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Overview

The phrase “acting out” often is associated with the adolescent period. As such, it tends to conjure a sense of behaving inappropriately, including engaging in delinquent and harmful behaviors. Yet, acting out can mean much more than that, as it can involve expressions that can serve to identify underlying concerns or can mean even positive expressions. This essay examines both types of acting out, as both have important roles to play in understanding adolescents and the adolescent experience itself.

Acting Out

The term “acting out” can have a variety of meanings as well as be executed at different levels of intensity. Acting out typically describes situations involving an individual’s failure to exercise proper control over their actions, which is why acting out also tends to be used as a pejorative term. It indicates that the individual has failed to censor their taboo primitive impulses and signals a lack of assimilation into basic social norms (e.g., a faulty upbringing).

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, 302 Sycamore Hall, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Roger J. R. Levesque

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  1. Roger J. R. Levesque
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Correspondence to Roger J. R. Levesque .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA

    Roger J.R. Levesque

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Levesque, R.J.R. (2016). Acting Out. In: Levesque, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_661-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_661-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-32132-5

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