Conduct Problems in Children Flashcards
Why was Conduct Disorder historically left out of psychiatry?
Because the children with conduct problems were considered untreatable.
What does ‘heterogeneity among children with conduct problems’ mean?
The traits/behaviours among these children are diverse in content.
What did the data gained from the Christchurch study find? (Include how many participants there were and what ages.)
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.
What often happens to naughty children (CD problems) when they grow up? Why is this important?
They often grow up to become anxious and mentally ill in a number of different ways. CD is an important precursor in mental health.
How many children display behaviours categorised by Oppositional Defiant Disorder?
5-10%
What is feature A. of Oppositional Defiant Disorder? And what are the 8 symptoms that define the feature?
A. A pattern of negativistic, hostile, and defiant behaviour lasting at least 6 months, during which four (or more) of the following are present:
- Often loses temper.
- Often argues with adults.
- Often actively defies/refuses to comply with adults’ requests/rules.
- Often deliberately annoys people.
- Often blames others for mistakes/misbehaviour.
- If often touchy or easily annoyed by others.
- Is often angry and resentful.
- If often spiteful or vindictive.
The 8 symptoms outlined in Oppositional Defiant Disorder fall along three dimensions, they are?
- Angry/irritable mood.
- Argumentative/defiant behaviour.
- Vindictiveness.
‘Angry/irritable mood’ is one of the dimensions described in the definition of ODD, explain what it is and the three features associated with it (3). What future mental disorders is it associated with?
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).
What defines the ‘argumentative/defiant dimension’ of ODD symptoms? (4)
What future mental disorders is it associated with?
Argues, refuses to comply/cooperate, deliberately annoys others, blames others.
Associated with ADHD.
Explain the ‘vindictiveness’ dimension of ODD symptoms.
What future mental disorders it associated with?
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).
Patterson’s Coercion Theory is the dominant causal model of conduct problems, give a brief explanation of how it works.
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’.
In Patterson’s Coercion Theory, if a child never repeats a behaviour again after being reprimanded what kind of operant conditioning is that? What if they DO continue to repeat the behaviour after being reprimanded?
- Don’t repeat behaviour –> positive punishment.
- Do repeat behaviour –> positive reinforcement.
According to Patterson’s Coercion Theory, why does reprimanding a child’s naughty behaviour often reinforce it?
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.
Patterson’s Coercion Theory infers that something can arise out of mundane/everyday/moment-to-moment interactions - what?
Violence and psychopathology.
Often, when parents and children are in conflict, the parent will escalate and the child will comply – what kind of reinforcement is this? And what kind of reinforcement happens when the parent backs off from the child’s escalation and the child ‘wins’ (more common scenario)?
If the child backs down, the parent experiences positive reinforcement. If the child wins they experience negative reinforcement.
In Patterson’s Coercion Theory, what is the 3-step escape-avoidant dance?
Attack-counterattack-positive outcome.
According to Patterson’s Coercion Theory, negative parent-child interactions play out as an interlocking pattern of reinforcement, what does this train a child to become?
How to be aggressive and anti-social MORE QUICKLY in order to achieve a certain outcome.
In Patterson’s Coercion Theory, parents become fatigued after dealing with their naughty child’s behaviour. What did this cause them to do to and how does this maintain the coercive cycle?
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.
What does Patterson call every member of a family involved in constant cycles of coercion?
A ‘victim and architect’.
What integral developmental emotional ability do patterns of coercion inhibit in the child? (According to Patterson’s Coercion Theory).
Emotional self-regulation.
What are the early signs/implications for early development of Oppositional Defiant Disorder? (the pathway)
- Failure be compliant/cooperative in early childhood.
- Coercive behaviour becomes a substitute social skill.
- Child becomes harder to discipline and socialise.
- Enters school with social deficits.
- Coercive exchanges start to occur with teachers and peers.
When a child enters school with conduct problems, what are some influences from peers?
Children with conduct problems often gang together, and antisocial children might mutually reinforce such behaviour in one another.
When a toddler has conduct problems that are not dealt with, what are the potential implications?
Can have a childhood/adolescent problematic behaviour trajectory, whereby the young child has issues, then as a teenager and can get into serious trouble.
A child normally starts off having ODD, if it continues on a poor trajectory, what can eventuate?
The development of Conduct Disorder.