Abnormal Psychology 3018 Conduct Problems in Children

Because the children with conduct problems were considered untreatable.

The traits/behaviours among these children are diverse in content.

The study involved nearly the entire population of Christchurch (98%) and followed them from 0 - 28 years old. It found that nearly ALL psychiatric disorders present later in life had a childhood precursor of either anxiety, ODD or CD.

They often grow up to become anxious and mentally ill in a number of different ways. CD is an important precursor in mental health.

5-10%

A. A pattern of negativistic, hostile, and defiant behaviour lasting at least 6 months, during which four (or more) of the following are present:

1. 1. Often loses temper.

2. 2. Often argues with adults.

3. 3. Often actively defies/refuses to comply with adults’ requests/rules.

4. 4. Often deliberately annoys people.

5. 5. Often blames others for mistakes/misbehaviour.

6. 6. If often touchy or easily annoyed by others.

7. 7. Is often angry and resentful.

8. 8. If often spiteful or vindictive.

1. 1. Angry/irritable mood.

2. 2. Argumentative/defiant behaviour.

3. 3. Vindictiveness.

It is emotional dysregulation, and the child will:
- often loose their temper,
- often be touchy or easily annoyed,
- often be angry and resentful.
Associated with Mood and Anxiety Disorders (Negative Affectivity).

Argues, refuses to comply/cooperate, deliberately annoys others, blames others.
Associated with ADHD.

Has been spiteful or vindictive at least twice within the past 6 months (getting back at people with revenge).
Associated with Psychopathy (Cold Conduct problems & Unemotional Traits).

It involves a process of mutual reinforcement during which caregivers inadvertently reinforce children’s difficult behaviours, causing the child to act out more, which in turn elicits negativity from the caregiver, and so on, until the interaction is discontinued when someone ‘wins’.

• Don’t repeat behaviour –> positive punishment.

- Do repeat behaviour –> positive reinforcement.

Because parents often only give attention to naughty behaviour, and attention is a primary need of a child. So, they begin to learn that naughty behaviour produces attention from the parent and will continue their naughty behaviour.

Violence and psychopathology.

If the child backs down, the parent experiences positive reinforcement. If the child wins they experience negative reinforcement.

Attack-counterattack-positive outcome.

How to be aggressive and anti-social MORE QUICKLY in order to achieve a certain outcome.

Because they are exhausted, the parent will stop attending to the child when they have calmed down. The child still needs/wants attention and because being naughty seems to be the only way to get attention, they will act out again.
The parent needs to pay attention to the child’s GOOD behaviour as well, so as to reinforce it.

A ‘victim and architect’.

Emotional self-regulation.

1. 1. Failure be compliant/cooperative in early childhood.

2. 2. Coercive behaviour becomes a substitute social skill.

3. 3. Child becomes harder to discipline and socialise.

4. 4. Enters school with social deficits.

5. 5. Coercive exchanges start to occur with teachers and peers.

Children with conduct problems often gang together, and antisocial children might mutually reinforce such behaviour in one another.

Can have a childhood/adolescent problematic behaviour trajectory, whereby the young child has issues, then as a teenager and can get into serious trouble.

The development of Conduct Disorder.

Late childhood/teen years. Although more and more young children (i.e. 5 year olds) are developing the disorder.

A. A repetitive and persistent pattern of behaviour in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate societal norms or rules are violates, as manifested by the presence of three (or more) of the following criteria in the past 12 months, with at least one present in the past 6 months:

1. 1. Aggression to people or animals.

2. 2. Destruction of property.

   1. 3. Deceitfulness or theft.

3. 4. Serious violations of rules (often staying out at night).

1. 1. Childhood-onset type: before age 10.

2. 2. Adolescent-onset type: after 10.
   Adolescent onset is considered more normative (the majority of conduct problems occurring at around the age of 15) and is not normally diagnosed as a psychiatric problem.

• more likely to have ADHD.

• neuro-cognitive risk factors.

• temperamental/personality risk factors (e.g., impulsivity, emotional dysregulation).

• coercive parent-child dynamics.

'Limited prosocial emotions' or callous- unemotional (CU) traits.
They show a lack of remorse, no guilt, no empathy, don't care about performance.

It is found in Cold Conduct Disorder (high CU traits), compared to Hot Conduct Disorder (low CU traits).

Low CU trait (hot CD) MORE COMMON:

- emotionally dysregulated.

- over reactive to emotional cues.

- reactive aggression.

- hostile attributional biases.

High CU traits (cold CD):

- aggression is reactive AND proactive.

- aggression is used instrumentally to get what they want.

- they are manipulative and don't reactive emotionally.

- don't notice the emotions of others.

They don't react, can't tell or don't care what the emotion is. Even in a scanner, their brains have low/no reactivity to emotional faces.
This is disconcerting because reaction to distressed faces is a normal, biological, primitive reaction nearly all humans have.

Low CU traits: lower heritability, more drive by environmental factors (parenting).
High CU traits: more heritability, strong genetic influence.

No, they are dimensional, they lie on the one spectrum that goes full empathy, etc. to complete lack of empathy, etc.

The girls, when measured are highly empathetic and sensitive, while the boys that display the same traits are not empathetic at all.

• high CU traits --> conduct problems.

• high CU traits --> no conduct problems (the more sinister, manipulative types).

• no CU traits --> conduct problems (this is the majority).

• no CU traits --> no conduct problems (good family life/parenting).