ABOUT
Most children show oppositional or defiant behaviors at some point in life, particularly in adolescence. Some youth may even have great difficulty following rules or behaving in socially accepted ways. However, sometimes these behaviors (i.e., arguing, talking back, and getting into fights) occur so frequently that they begin to negatively affect youths’ family, social lives, and school. Instead of being viewed by others as having a mental health difficulty, these kids are often unfairly thought of as “bad” or “delinquent.”
There are several types of disruptive behavior disorders:
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Conduct Disorder
Disruptive Behavior Disorder Not Otherwise Specified
Children misbehave for a number of reasons. Some potential causes include genetics, brain damage, child abuse, school failure, challenging parent-child relationships, difficult life experiences and peer influence. While there are effective and proven treatments, these treatments often require a lot of effort on the part of the parents or guardians. If you believe that your child may have these problems, they should receive an evaluation from the doctor as soon as possible.
WHAT A PARENT WOULD NOTICE IN THEIR KEIKI
Symptoms of disruptive behavior are often broken up into two types: oppositionality and conduct-related problems.
Kids with problems with oppositionality often:
Throw temper tantrums
Argue with adults and peers
Question rules
Defy adult requests and rules
Try to annoy or upset people
Blame others for their own mistakes or misbehavior
Are easily annoyed
Are angry
Try to get back at others when they are wronged
Youth with conduct-related problems may show symptoms such as:
Aggression to people and animals
Bullying others
Getting into fights
Using a harmful weapon against someone in a fight
Being physically mean to people or animals
Forcefully stealing from a victim
Forcing someone into a sexual act
Destroying property
Deceitfulness, lying, or stealing
Serious rule-breaking
FACTS
About 28% of youth served by the Hawaii Department of Health have a disruptive behavior diagnosis
Many youth with a disruptive behavior problem also have other behavioral or emotional difficulties (e.g., sadness, anxiousness, difficulty with attention, substance use)
Boys are more likely than girls to have disruptive behavior problems
About 30% of children with an Oppositional Defiant Disorder go on to develop Conduct Disorder
VIDEOS FOR PARENTS ABOUT DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR
When should you be concerned and what to do about it if you are seeing signs of behavioral challenges in your child? - Dr. Mark Eddie, Director of Research from Partners for Children at the University of Washington.
See What Works (for children 12 and under):
Tangible Rewards
Praise
Time-Out
Commands
Differential Reinforcement
Parent Management Training [PMT]
Multisystemic Therapy [MST]
See What Works (for children 13 and over):
Tangible Rewards
Problem-Solving
Cognitive
Goal Setting
Communication Skills
Parent Management Training [PMT]
Multisystemic Therapy [MST]
Information for this site has been obtained from the following resources:
