Conduct disorders

Children and teens sometimes feel the need to be disobedient and rebel against their parents. The behavior, however, is regarded as a conduct disorder when it is persistent, offends others' rights, deviates from established social standards, and interferes with the child's or family's normal daily activities.

This conduct disorder is often described as - "Conduct disorder (CD) is a mental health condition that affects children and teens that’s characterized by a consistent pattern of aggressive behaviors and actions that harm the well-being of others" (Cleveland clinic, 2022).

Symptoms

Depending on the child's age and how serious the disease is, there are different conduct disorder symptoms. Over time, conduct disorder-specific behaviors emerge gradually. Impulsive and challenging to control, conduct disorder in children is common. If one or more of the following behaviors are displayed by your kid repeatedly, they may have conduct disorder with the following forms of persisting behavior:

• Aggressive conduct - this covers coercion into engaging in sexual activity, as well as bullying, threats, bodily harm, carrying a weapon, abusing people or animals physically and blaming others for their own behavior of aggression.
• Deceitful behavior - this might be stealing repeatedly from stores, breaking into people's houses or cars, or lying repeatedly.
• Destructive behavior - this includes destroying property deliberately, such as by setting fire to it or by vandalizing someone else's property.
• Violation of rules - indulging in conduct that is against social norms or inappropriate for the person's age falls under this category. These actions might involve escaping, skipping class, pulling practical jokes, or engaging in sexual activity at a very young age.

Causes

Genetic causes

Many young people with conduct problems come from families where there are people who suffer from mood, anxiety, substance use, or personality issues. This implies that a propensity for behavior disorders may be at least partially hereditary.

Biological causes

Conduct disorder has been related to damage to the frontal lobe of the brain. The area of the brain known as the frontal lobe controls fundamental cognitive abilities including memory, problem-solving, and emotional expression. The frontal lobe dysfunction might be hereditary, genetic, or the result of brain trauma. Personality characteristics that are frequently present in conduct disorder in children can be inherited. A person with conduct disorder may not have a properly functioning frontal lobe, which can result in a variety of problems, including:

• Unrestrained impulsivity
• Diminished capacity for making plans for the future
• An impaired capacity to draw lessons from the bad events of the past

Environmental factors

Conduct disorder is linked to a number of environmental conditions, including:

• an unhealthy family
• child maltreatment
• drug or alcohol-using parents experiencing
• poverty

Adolescents with CD frequently exhibit antisocial and substance-using tendencies in their parents. Additionally, they typically have diagnoses of schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder, ADHD, and mood problems.

Psychological factors

Some professionals think that behavior disorders may be a reflection of cognitive processing deficiencies as well as issues with moral awareness (specifically, a lack of sorrow and remorse).

Treatment

The severity of the symptoms, the child's age, and their capacity to engage in and endure particular therapies are all important considerations for treating conduct disorder in children. The typical course of treatment includes a mix of the following:

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is a sort of counseling that aims to teach the youngsters more suitable methods to express and manage their anger. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a sort of treatment that seeks to change the way the kid thinks (cognition) in order to enhance their ability to solve problems, regulate their anger, reason morally, and control their impulses. Enhancing family relationships and intergenerational communication may be achieved through family therapy. Parent management training (PMT), a specialist therapeutic approach, instructs parents on how to modify their child's behavior at home in a constructive way.

cognitive behavioral therapy (individual psychotherapy)

For a kid with conduct disorder, individual treatment focuses on helping them learn how to solve problems, improve their relationships through resolving disagreements, and learn how to reject harmful influences in their environment.

Anger management training

The aim of anger management is to lessen both the physiological arousal that anger creates and your child's emotional sensations. Because it's impossible to completely prevent or get rid of the things or people who aggravate your child, anger management therapy teaches them to regulate their feelings.

Medications

Despite the fact that no medicine is officially licensed to treat conduct disorder, a number of medications may be taken (off label) to manage some of its disturbing symptoms (impulsivity, aggressiveness, dysregulated mood), as well as any other mental diseases that may be present, such as ADHD or severe depression.

Summary

Depending on how quickly the problem manifested and if it was treated, conduct disorder has a prognosis (outlook). In around one-third of instances, the disruptive behavioral habits do not end until early adulthood. The antisocial personality disorder criteria are met in many of these cases. Through the research and ways of looking at the conduct disorder, it is clear that having this disorder may come along with other forms mental illnesses as well. Such as - anxiety disorders, somatic symptom disorder, early adult-onset psychotic disorder, and as well as bipolar disorder and depression.

Even though conduct disorder may not be preventable, spotting and responding to signs as soon as they emerge can reduce the burden on the kid and family and stop many of the issues the illness is known for. A family setting that is caring, stable, and supportive with a healthy dose of love and discipline may also aid in easing symptoms and preventing instances of unsettling behavior.

References:

WebMD Editorial Contributors (2003). Mental Health and Conduct Disorder. [online] WebMD. Available at: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-conduct-disorder [Accessed: 24 Jul. 2023].

Cleveland clinic (2022). Conduct Disorder: What It Is, Symptoms & Treatment. [online] Cleveland Clinic. Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23924-conduct-disorder [Accessed: 24 Jul. 2023].

Psychology Today (2013). Conduct Disorder | Psychology Today. [online] Psychology Today. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/conduct-disorder [Accessed: 24 Jul. 2023].

Kivi, R. (2022). Conduct Disorder: Types, Causes, and Symptoms. [online] Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/conduct-disorder#treatments [Accessed: 24 Jul. 2023].