Bullying and getting into drugs are criminal activities, but littering and truancy are not, according to a new survey of young people's views on criminal and antisocial behaviour.

Research conducted by members of Liverpool Youth Service found that teenagers did not regard activities such as playing football in residential areas and hanging around on street corners as constituting antisocial behaviour.

Teenagers cited a lack of training and employment, limited access to youth services, boredom, stress, deprivation and poor parental supervision as the main causes of youth offending.

Young people believed that greater involvement in their community, better relationships with the police, mentors and more opportunities were the key factors in preventing criminal and antisocial behaviour.

They also felt that police needed to be more aware of young people's needs and called on them to find ways of improving engagement.

The researchers from the Liverpool Youth Service youth engagement team said the survey's findings reflected a pervasive lack of understanding of what commonly constituted antisocial behaviour.

They identified a need for more information about antisocial behaviour orders and said that many young people were caught committing antisocial acts without realising they were doing anything wrong.

The group also called for the media to present more positive images of young people and urged greater public understanding of what drives young offenders towards antisocial and criminal behaviour.