Conduct Disorder (Conduct Disorder) is a behavioral and emotional disorder in children or adolescents. Children or adolescents who are affected often have aggressive behavior, destroy things, habitually lie, or have problems following rules.
Normally, the behaviors mentioned above may be found in children who are growing up sometimes. Most parents or people around them may misunderstand that it is normal. But in fact, it is possible that the child may be suffering from Conduct Disorder. If such behaviors occur continuously for a long time and are severe enough to affect people around them or the child and family members’ lives, parents or close people should take their children to see a doctor because the child may develop other severe behaviors.
Symptoms of Conduct Disorder
Symptoms of Conduct Disorder can vary depending on the child’s age and severity. Common behavioral symptoms include:
- Aggressive behavior, threatening or bullying others, physical harm to others, animal cruelty, or sexual abuse of others.
- Intentionally destroying property or setting fire
- Frequent lying , stealing,burglary, or forgery
- Not following rules or engaging in behavior that is inappropriate for their age, such as truant from school, running away from home, disturbing others, engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior, drinking alcohol or using drugs, etc.
However, most of the symptoms of Conduct Disorder can be found in general children. But if such behaviors are found frequently to the point of being abnormal, parents may take their children to see a doctor for consultation or to receive a check-up as soon as possible. Because treating Conduct Disorder early may help slow down the progression of the disease and reduce the severity of the behavior that occurs.
Causes of Conduct Disorder
Currently, medicine does not know the exact cause of violent behavior, but it is possible that it may be related to certain factors, such as:
- Genetics: Children whose family members have a history of mental illness may be more likely to develop severe delinquent behaviors, such as mood disorders, anxietydisorders, substance use disorders, or personality disorders.
- Brain disorders: Violent behavior can result from genetic abnormalities in the frontal lobe of the brain, which controls behavior, impulses, emotions, or thought processes and perceptions, or damage from trauma to the brain.
- Environment and society that may cause severe delinquent behavior, such as family upbringing, history of childhood abuse, traumatic events, history of drug use in the family, and lack of acceptance from society or people close to the person, etc.
In addition, violent delinquent behavior may be more common in boys or children with certain risk factors, such as children with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), children with substance abuse, children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or children with learning disabilities.
Diagnosis of Conduct Disorder
If a patient has symptoms that may be a sign of Conduct Disorder, the doctor will make a preliminary diagnosis by asking about the patient’s history of chronic illnesses and psychiatric symptoms. If it is possible that the patient has Conduct Disorder caused by other physical illnesses , the doctor may perform a physical examination using various methods, such as a blood test, a Computerized Tomography Scan (CT Scan), or an MRI Scan. In addition, the doctor may check for other conditions or illnesses that often occur with Conduct Disorder, such as depression or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder .
If no physical abnormalities are found, the doctor will recommend that the patient see a specialist such as a psychiatrist or child and adolescent psychologist, who will assess and diagnose the symptoms by talking to the patient and people close to them, such as parents or teachers, or by observing the patient’s behavior as well.
Treatment of Conduct Disorder
The doctor will consider the appropriate treatment method for each child for Conduct Disorder based on various factors such as the patient’s age or the severity of the symptoms. The methods that doctors often use for treatment include:
Psychotherapy
Doctors will talk and give advice to change the patient’s thought process and behavior. Doctors will help patients learn how to control their emotions, express themselves appropriately, use reason, and solve various problems appropriately.
Drug treatment
Your doctor may prescribe certain medications to treat symptoms or conditions that may occur with Conduct Disorder, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or depression .
In addition, the doctor may talk to the patient’s parents or family members further to recommend appropriate care methods or communicate to create more interaction between the family and the patient.
Complications of Conduct Disorder
If children with Conduct Disorder do not receive proper treatment, it may result in problems in daily life in various aspects, such as studying, relationships with people around them, violence against themselves or others, drug use, sexually transmitted diseases, breaking the law, and suicide. Or it may develop mental disorders such as Antisocial Personality Disorder, Mood Disorder, or Anxiety Disorder.
Conduct Disorder Prevention
Since the medical profession has not been able to identify the exact cause of Conduct Disorder, prevention may be difficult. However, parents may be able to reduce the risk by controlling related factors such as the child’s environment and society, such as creating a good atmosphere in the family, taking care of children appropriately, or building a good relationship between parents and children , etc.
