Chapter 9 – Conduct problems
Describtion of conduct problems:
Conduct problems/antisocial behaviors: wide range of age-inappropriate actions and attitudes of a
child that violate family expectations, societal norms and personal or property rights of others (grow
up in extremely unfortunate family and neighborhood circumstances).
Context, costs and perspectives:
Antisocial behavior vary in severity, form minor disobedience to fighting. Some decrease with age
where others increase. More common with boys than girls during childhood, the adulthood is the
same.
Different terms to describe similar patterns of behavior:
- Legal: conduct problems are defined as delinquent or criminal acts juvenile delinquency:
children who have broken the law.
- Psychological: fall along a continuous dimension of externalizing behavior: a continuous
dimensions of behavior that includes a mixture of impulsive, overactive, aggressive and
delinquent acts. One standard deviations above the mean and you have conduct problems.
o Overt-covert dimension: ranges from overt visible acts to covert hidden acts.
o Destructive-nondestructive dimension: ranges from acts as cruelty to animals to
nondestructive behaviors as arguing.
- Psychiatric: distinct mental disorders. DSM-5 has a category of disruptive impulsive-control
and conduct disorders. Disruptive behavior disorders:
o ODD (oppositional defiant disorder), CD (conduct disorder), Intermittent explosive
disorder, Pysomania and Kleptomania
- Public health: of prevention and intervention
, DSM-5 defining features:
ODD: age-inappropriate recurrent pattern of stubborn, hostile, disobedient and defiant behaviors.
Appears by 8 years.
Diagnostic criteria ODD DSM-5:
- Pattern for at least 6 months and d4 symptoms for any category:
o Angry/irritable mood (negative affect)
Loses temper
Touchy or easily annoyed
Angry or resentful
o Argumentative/defiant behavior (defiance)
Argues with authority figures
Actively defies or refuses to comply with requests from authority figures or
with rules
Deliberately annoys others
Blames others for mistakes/behavior
o Vindictiveness (hurtful behavior)
Spiteful or vindictive at least twice within 6 months
- Disturbance in behavior is associated with distress in the individual or others in this
immediate social context
- Behaviors do not occur exclusively during the course of a psychotic, substance-use, depressive
or BP disorder
Mild:
Symptoms are confined to only one setting.
Moderate:
Some symptoms are present in at least two settings.
Severe:
Some symptoms are present in three or more settings.
Conduct disorder (CD): display a repetitive and persistent pattern of severely aggressive and
antisocial acts that involve inflicting pain on others or interfering with the rights of others through
psychical and verbal aggression, stealing or vandalism.
Childhood-onset CD: at least one symptom of the disorder is shown before the age of 10 (more boys
than girls).
Unspecified-onset CD: onset is unknown.
Adolescent-onset CD: symptoms show later than 10 years old (same both sexes).
Important for treatment and diagnosing.
Diagnostic criteria CD DSM-5:
- Three of the following criteria in the past 12 months and 1 had to be present in the past 6
months.
o Aggression to people and animals:
Bullies, threatens or intimidates others
Initiates physical fights
Used a weapon that can cause physical harm
Describtion of conduct problems:
Conduct problems/antisocial behaviors: wide range of age-inappropriate actions and attitudes of a
child that violate family expectations, societal norms and personal or property rights of others (grow
up in extremely unfortunate family and neighborhood circumstances).
Context, costs and perspectives:
Antisocial behavior vary in severity, form minor disobedience to fighting. Some decrease with age
where others increase. More common with boys than girls during childhood, the adulthood is the
same.
Different terms to describe similar patterns of behavior:
- Legal: conduct problems are defined as delinquent or criminal acts juvenile delinquency:
children who have broken the law.
- Psychological: fall along a continuous dimension of externalizing behavior: a continuous
dimensions of behavior that includes a mixture of impulsive, overactive, aggressive and
delinquent acts. One standard deviations above the mean and you have conduct problems.
o Overt-covert dimension: ranges from overt visible acts to covert hidden acts.
o Destructive-nondestructive dimension: ranges from acts as cruelty to animals to
nondestructive behaviors as arguing.
- Psychiatric: distinct mental disorders. DSM-5 has a category of disruptive impulsive-control
and conduct disorders. Disruptive behavior disorders:
o ODD (oppositional defiant disorder), CD (conduct disorder), Intermittent explosive
disorder, Pysomania and Kleptomania
- Public health: of prevention and intervention
, DSM-5 defining features:
ODD: age-inappropriate recurrent pattern of stubborn, hostile, disobedient and defiant behaviors.
Appears by 8 years.
Diagnostic criteria ODD DSM-5:
- Pattern for at least 6 months and d4 symptoms for any category:
o Angry/irritable mood (negative affect)
Loses temper
Touchy or easily annoyed
Angry or resentful
o Argumentative/defiant behavior (defiance)
Argues with authority figures
Actively defies or refuses to comply with requests from authority figures or
with rules
Deliberately annoys others
Blames others for mistakes/behavior
o Vindictiveness (hurtful behavior)
Spiteful or vindictive at least twice within 6 months
- Disturbance in behavior is associated with distress in the individual or others in this
immediate social context
- Behaviors do not occur exclusively during the course of a psychotic, substance-use, depressive
or BP disorder
Mild:
Symptoms are confined to only one setting.
Moderate:
Some symptoms are present in at least two settings.
Severe:
Some symptoms are present in three or more settings.
Conduct disorder (CD): display a repetitive and persistent pattern of severely aggressive and
antisocial acts that involve inflicting pain on others or interfering with the rights of others through
psychical and verbal aggression, stealing or vandalism.
Childhood-onset CD: at least one symptom of the disorder is shown before the age of 10 (more boys
than girls).
Unspecified-onset CD: onset is unknown.
Adolescent-onset CD: symptoms show later than 10 years old (same both sexes).
Important for treatment and diagnosing.
Diagnostic criteria CD DSM-5:
- Three of the following criteria in the past 12 months and 1 had to be present in the past 6
months.
o Aggression to people and animals:
Bullies, threatens or intimidates others
Initiates physical fights
Used a weapon that can cause physical harm
