Today, we are going to discuss everything about conduct disorder. Conduct disorder is basically a set of problem behaviours exhibited by adolescents and children. This kind of behaviour involves the violation of a person, their property, and even their rights. Some of the signs of conduct disorder also include aggression and law-breaking activities. This type of problem in kids is categorized under behavioural disorders that are collectively known as disruptive behaviour disorders including ADHD, ODD, and more.
If you see a kid struggling with conduct disorder, it is important that you get proper treatment for it immediately. If a kid is not given proper treatment, they are at the risk of developing a range of problems in future including personality disorders, mental illness, and even substance use.
What are the characteristics of conduct disorder?
There are several different characteristics of conduct disorder that you can easily get to see in a kid with the problem.
- They start refusing to obey their elders be it parents, authorities, or even teachers.
- They tend to fall for drug use including tobacco as well alcohol.
- Lack of empathy in them for others
- Getting aggressive to animals
- Being aggressive to people around them
- Tendency to hand out in gangs
- The habit of lying to everyone for no reason.
- They tend to rin away
- Falling in law-breaking activities
- They face learning difficulties.
- They also tend to develop suicidal tendencies
These are some significant signs of conduct disorders.
Diagnosis of Conduct Disorder
Conduct disorder is very similar to ODD and ADHD which actually makes diagnosis very difficult. This is the problem that needs professional guidance from either an adolescent psychologist, child psychiatrist, or even a paediatrician. A professional will make their diagnosis on the basis of the answers given by the parent and the child. Usually, they use a certain set of checklists to determine if the child is facing conduct disorder.
The different treatment courses for conduct disorder
One of the greatest challenges is to find the right treatment for conduct disorder. To overcome conduct disorder, a professional will find a set of treatments which may include –
- CBT, cognitive behavioural therapy
- Stress management
- Special education program
- Stress management therapies
- Anger management therapies
- Multi-systematic therapy
- Complete family therapy
- Social skills training
- Medication including depression or ADHD medication
- Parent management training
Bottom Line
These are some treatment options that usually are taken to treat conduct disorder in kids. Whenever you have a doubt that your kid is struggling with conduct disorder, you need to take him or her immediately to a psychiatrist and paediatrician. Taking immediate action could save the kid from developing more severe issues. There are several online platforms like Quirky Kid that provide parents and kids with the assessment tools that will help you determine and diagnose the problem of conduct disorder. Usually, kids with conduct disorder are treated with behaviour therapy, parent management training, functional family therapy and even psychotherapy. It is important that you take care of the problem as soon as possible.
