Is Richard a "bad" boy? When should behavior be blamed on the person and when should it be blamed on the environment?

As one reads through the first two chapters we see Richard demonstrating some mischievous behavior. However there is speculation concerning why he behaves this way. I believe his biggest influence is the environment. Richard's environment consists of a mother who shows harsh discipline, a father who barely cares, and the slummy neighborhood in which he lives.
Richard's mother tells him to fight and gives him a stick to do so, and thus Richard hurts a group of boys and threatens them and their parents (18). This is not the right way to deal with the situation, but Richard knows no better because of his mother. This boy's father is such a poor parental figure, that Richard has a deep hate for him. Richard's resentment urges him to kill a kitten, just to anger his father (11). If this boy had a better father he wouldn't have killed a kitten. Unfortunately, Richard and his family have another problem. They are very poor, forcing his mother to work most of the day. Richard is thus free to wander about the town unsupervised. he finds a way to earn money and drink by going to a saloon (21). However, muttering obscenities and getting drunk is really not proper behavior for a six year old. Through these and many other examples displayed in the first chapters it is clearly shows Richard's "bad" behavior comes from his environment consisting of his troublesome parents and slummy town.