Conduct
Disorders:
New Information About Your Child's Behavior
Conduct Disorders can stem from
a multitude of factors such as: genetics, brain damage, child abuse,
school failure, and traumatic life experiences. If your child is
referred to as a bully, a bad kid, or a delinquent, then they may
suffer from conduct disorders. Behavioral signs that your child
may suffer from conduct disorders are:
- Lying
- Stealing
- Aggression (towards people and animals)
- Truancy (skipping school)
- Destruction of property (setting fires, vandalism,
etc.)
- Violation of rules
- Running away from home
There are two types of conduct
disorders: childhood onset conduct disorder and adolescent onset
conduct disorder. Childhood onset conduct disorders occur before
the age of 10 and is thought to be a more severe form of conduct
disorder, carrying on into adulthood. Childhood onset conduct disorders
are more likely to commit violent and victim oriented offenses.
It is also said that conduct disorders comorbid (coexisting) with
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD) are typically childhood onset. In fact, ADHD can be an
early indicator of conduct disorders. Other factors that can indicate
childhood onset conduct disorders are: meeting criteria for oppositional
defiant disorder, being male, and having parents that demonstrate
antisocial behavior. According to T. E. Moffitt from Psychological
Review, "life-course persistent antisocial behavior (i.e. childhood
onset conduct disorder) has its earliest roots in both neurological
deficits and exposure to environmental risk, such as poor parenting
and parental antisocial behavior. Neurological deficits give rise
to difficult temperament that leaves the affected child vulnerable
to poor parenting, as well as more likely to elicit poor parenting
from caretakers."
Adolescent onset conduct disorders occur after the age of 10 and
is typically not aggressive towards individuals or animals. Behaviors
or misbehaviors in adolescent onset conduct disorders are more so
to demonstrate autonomy and independence from parents and parental
control. Skipping school, lying, destruction of property, and stealing
are examples of adolescent onset. Exposure to deviant peers is what
leads to adolescent onset conduct disorders most often and the conduct
disorder usually ceases in early adulthood.
Treatments for childhood onset
conduct disorders area very important to avoid future criminal and
antisocial behaviors. If one criterion for a conduct disorder surfaces
before the age of 10, then treatment should be sought out immediately.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
is a very strong indicator for future conduct disorders. Comorbid
ADHD is two and half times more likely to have childhood onset conduct
disorder than adolescent onset. Treatments include: behavior therapy
and psychotherapy, special education for learning disabilities,
parent management training (PMT), and pharmaceutical drugs (stimulant,
non-stimulant, and antidepressants). The stimulant pharmaceutical
drugs have unfortunate side effects such as: loss of appetite, weight
loss, sleeping problems, irritability, rapid heart rate, elevated
blood pressure, withdrawn behavior, tics, and suppression of growth.
Also, antidepressant pharmaceutical drugs can be habit forming.
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