Q: This is about my son (age 22 years old) who is intelligent, good looking and doing very well academically and socially. It is therefore all the more puzzling and worrying that he seems to lie at times for no reason at all. It is not to get out of trouble nor is it white lies to stop hurting other peoples feelings. Its just that he makes up stories (not necessarily about himself) but just some news about his friends or people we know marginally and gives some interesting but totally false gossip about them. It is not malicious or self serving but just something that will interest us. When caught, he grins and says that it did so to lighten our day. Do I need to worry about this behaviour? I thought it will pass of but it seems to recur. Now I don't know whether to believe him or not. When I tell him this, he promises to stick to the truth in future then a few weeks later relapses. I don't know if he does this only to me or also with others. Please advise.

A:Lying would be considered as a problem behaviour, if it directly affects life, in terms of work, personal, and social life. If this is not happening and he basically just makes some stories to get fun and attention, it might not be a serious issue, although it would be a good idea to review with an expert personally, as this nature could be because of psychosocial needs and deficits.