The Runaway Reaction
RICHARD L. JENKINS M.D.1
1 Professor of Child Psychiatry and Chief, Child Psychiatry Service, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52240
Delinquent behavior can usually be classified as motivation behavior, the pursuit of understandable goals by illegal means, or— as a response to frustration—maladaptive behavior without a goal. Most delinquents are classifiable as either adaptive delinquents who cooperate against adult control ("group delinquent reaction") or as maladaptive delinquents. This latter group is subdivided according to the presence of the response of fight ("unsocialized aggressive reaction") or flight ("runaway reaction"). This article is concerned with characterizing the "runaway reaction."
