Antisocial behavior in childhood and adolescence is associated with poor family and peer relationships, and a higher risk of mental and physical health problems in adulthood, as well as criminality. Emotions play a central role in children’s moral development, but most research has focused on negative emotions (e.g., shame and guilt), in relation to childhood antisocial behavior. Research in adult populations indicates that positive emotions experienced in anticipation of, during, and after antisocial acts may play an important role in the development and maintenance of antisocial behavior. Consequently, this systematic review aimed to investigate the relationship between positive emotion and antisocial behavior in children and adolescents. A systematic search in five databases was conducted, yielding 52 studies that used different methodological approaches, samples, designs and methods to examine this association. Results provide support for a positive relationship between positive emotion and antisocial behavior across community, forensic and clinical samples. This link appeared to be stronger for younger children, boys, and for children high in social dominance, callous-unemotional or sensation-seeking traits. Results suggested that positive affect may act in concert with negative emotion, cognitive, personality and motivational processes, as well as peer influences to determine the initiation and maintenance of antisocial behavior. This review presents directions for future research and discusses the implications of findings for prevention and intervention programs for youth with antisocial behavior.

儿童和青少年时期的反社会行为与不良的家庭和同伴关系有关，成年后出现身心健康问题以及犯罪的风险更高。情绪在儿童的道德发展中起着核心作用，但大多数研究都集中在与儿童反社会行为相关的负面情绪（例如羞耻和内疚）上。对成年人群的研究表明，在预期、期间和之后体验到的积极情绪可能在反社会行为的发展和维持中发挥重要作用。因此，本系统综述旨在调查儿童和青少年积极情绪与反社会行为之间的关系。对 5 个数据库进行了系统检索，产生了 52 项研究，这些研究使用不同的方法学方法、样本、设计和方法来检查这种关联。结果为社区、法医和临床样本中的积极情绪与反社会行为之间的正相关关系提供了支持。对于年幼的儿童、男孩以及具有较高社会支配地位、冷酷无情或寻求感觉特征的儿童，这种联系似乎更强。结果表明，积极影响可能与消极情绪、认知、人格和动机过程以及同伴影响协同作用，以确定反社会行为的开始和维持。本综述为未来的研究方向提出了方向，并讨论了研究结果对有反社会行为的青少年的预防和干预计划的影响。