Behavior and Conduct Disorders

One of the characteristic human traits is to find a survival mechanism in all challenging situations in life. And an inbuilt need to be able to achieve our needs and desires. All human behavior arises from this innate need to survive and achieve. When there are obstacles to achieving these, humans instinctively try to find ways around those obstacles by modifying their behavior. Sometimes these modified behaviors become unacceptable to others and fall into the category of disorders.

We commonly see children going through ‘phases’ of development that involve misbehavior or unacceptable conduct and these are considered a normal part of growing up. But when these behaviors do not improve or continue to get worse, they need treatment and the psychosocial environmental triggers need to change, for the child to adopt a healthier or a more acceptable survival mechanism.

The coping mechanism adopted is very individual and depends on each child/person’s genetic makeup and conditioning by the way they are raised.

Certain coping mechanisms that are considered disorders are:

• Aggression (being violent and cause injury to others)
• Deceptive behavior (lying, cheating and manipulating others)
• Disregard for rules (these may be taking liberties with small rules to violating serious rules)
• Destructive behavior (like destroying property, setting fire to things etc)
• Theft (shoplifting, stealing from others, breaking into homes etc.)

The core cause behind most such behaviors and conduct disorders are related to a faulty perception of situations and people.

Common conduct disorders, especially found in teenagers:

• Problems with academic performance
• Risk taking behavior
• Substance abuse disorder

According to Dr. Joelle Samaha, counselor and founder of PhiloLife Wellbeing Education Center, behaviors associated with conduct disorder have the potential to cause “significant impairment” in many aspects of a child’s life, including:

• Family relationships
• Friendship with other children
• School life
• Social life

It is important to work with the whole family and understand the dynamics of it rather than label a child with a disorder, says Dr Samaha. Certain family and home environments may be a risk factor for some children in developing conduct disorder, especially:

• Having a parent with antisocial or narcissistic personality traits
• Having a parent with a substance use disorder
• Lack of consistent parental presence and support
• Living in a family with conflicts and stressful dynamics

Significant traumatic events in life also contribute to the development of unhealthy coping mechanisms. Some common examples are:

• Being bullied
• Experiencing childhood abuse, including sexual abuse
• Living in communities deprived of resources
• Living in a country or place with high crime rates, armed conflict or war