Conduct Disorder: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

Conduct disorder is a behavioral and emotional disorder that affects children and teens. This article discusses the symptoms, causes, and treatment options for conduct disorder. It also provides advice for optimizing development and seeking professional help. References are included for further reading.

Conduct disorder
Conduct disorder: Conduct disorder is an acute
behavioral and emotional disorder that may occur in
children as well as teens. Children with conduct disorder
may display disruptive and violent pattern of behavior.
They often face problem following rules and having in
obedient manner. Children or adolescents with conduct
disorder tend to violate social rules or the rights of other
with their persistent pattern of behavior. A variety of
setting involving home, school and other social
situations witness the children or adolescents exhibiting
these behavior patterns. They also cause significant
impairment in their social, family and academic
functioning (Michalska, Zeffiro & Decety, 2016).
Causes of conduct disorder:
Although the cause of conduct disorder is hard to
specify, it is believed to be a combination of biological,
genetic, social, psychological and environmental factors
by the researchers.
Biological: according to researches, injuries to certain
areas of the brain can lead to disorder in the brain. It is
related to the region of the brain that controls
emotions, impulse and behaviour. Therefore, any
injuries in these areas can lead to conduct disorder.
Genetic: conduct disorder can be seen in children who
have close family members with mental illness such as
anxiety or mood disorders. This indicates conduct
disorder as an inherent behaviour.
Social: often low socioeconomic status can lead to
conduct disorder among children for not being accepted
by their peers. They develop agony and anger which is
manifested through behaviour disorders.
Psychological: Lack of moral awareness involving lack of
remorse or guilt is often the psychological reasons that
lead to conduct disorder among children.
Environmental factors: a child who is exposed to a harsh
environment is prone to develop conduct disorder.
Growing up in dysfunctional family life, traumatic
experience, child abuse and similar incidents can cause
conduct disorder in children.
Treatment:
Children, adolescents and adults with conduct
disorder can be diagnosed with conduct disorder.
The treatment of conduct disorder can be done
through the help of a psychiatrist or mental health
professional. The treatment involves both individual
and family therapy with the primary goal of helping
the individual improve interaction with others. The
treatments are:
Cognitive behavioural therapy: This therapy helps the
child to deal with impulsive behaviour and manage
impulsive behaviour.
Family therapy: through family therapy, family
members learn to communicate more effectively.
Even the parents learn strategies for de-escalating
conflict with their child.
Group therapy: this process involves the peers of the
child that help them develop interpersonal skills and
behaviour that foster empathy.
School support: in this treatment, a team of people
assemble in order to help the child with conduct
disorder.
Medication: individuals with co-occurring disorders
are usually treated with this process. Medication is
prescribed when the child has attention issues or
symptoms related to mood such as depression.
Client advise for optimising the development:
• Learn more regarding conduct disorder including
recent researches on treatment approaches. • A consult
with a mental health professional that is specialised in
children’s mental health • Explore the available
treatment options. Since conduct disorder happens in
different forms in different children, treatments are
often individualised • Find family support organisation
or groups nearby.
Symptoms of conduct disorder: Conduct disorder
consists of numerous symptoms however, it varies
depending on the age and other factors. Also, the
symptoms depend on the severity of the issues such as
mild, moderate or severe. In general, the symptoms can
be categorised into four categories:
Aggressive behaviour: one of the prominent symptoms
of conduct behaviour is the behaviour that cause
physical harm or threaten to others include bullying,
fighting and being cruel to others or animals
(Souroulla,Panteli,Robinson & Panayiotou, 2019).
Destructive behaviour: this symptom involves the
destruction of property such as vandalism or deliberate
fire-setting. Deceitful behaviour and Violation of rules:
these involve breaking laws, repeated lying and violation
of rules such as skipping school and running away.
Additional information: Victoria state government: It is
one of the helpful sites that provides information
regarding conduct disorder.
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsa
ndtreatments/conduct-disorder
Blue beyond: blue beyond is an organisation that works
towards mental illness. The website provides
information about depression and suicide.
https://healthyfamilies.beyondblue.org.au/age-6-12/
mental-health-conditions-in-children
Referencing:
Michalska, K. J., Zeffiro, T. A., & Decety, J. (2016).
Brain response to viewing others being harmed in
children with conduct disorder symptoms. Journal of
child psychology and psychiatry, 57(4), 510-519.
Souroulla, A. V., Panteli, M., Robinson, J. D., &
Panayiotou, G. (2019). Valence, arousal or both?
Shared emotional deficits associated with Attention
Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder and
Oppositional/Defiant-Conduct Disorder symptoms in
school-aged youth. Biological psychology, 140, 131-
140.