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Mental Health Problems/Diagnoses > Children and Adolescents

Disruptive Behavior Disorders - Children and Adolescents

What are Disruptive Behavior Disorders?

Disruptive Behavior Disorders involve consistent patterns of behaviors that “break the rules.” Young people of all ages break some rules, especially less important ones. More serious oppositional behavior is a normal part of childhood for children two and three years old and for young teenagers. At other times, when young people are routinely very, very oppositional and defiant of authority, a mental health disorder may be identified.

There are three main Disruptive Behavior Disorders:

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) Click here for a full description.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Conduct Disorder

Oppositional Defiant Disorder
In Oppositional Defiant Disorder, the rules broken are usually those in the family and the school. Oppositional Defiant Disorder may occur in children of any age and in adolescents. Sometimes Oppositional Defiant Disorder leads to Conduct Disorder. Between one and six percent of children and adolescents have Oppositional Defiant Disorder.
Examples of Oppositional Defiant Disorder behaviors are:

Frequent defiance of the authority of parents, teachers and others
Arguing and refusing to obey rules at home and school
Failure to take responsibility for bad behavior or mistakes
Resentment and looking for revenge
Regular temper tantrums

Conduct Disorder Behaviors
In Conduct Disorder, the rules broken include the regulations and laws made by society. Conduct Disorder usually occurs in older children and adolescents. Between one and four percent of young persons seven to seventeen have Conduct Disorder.
Examples of Conduct Disorder behaviors are:

Aggressive behaviors that threaten or harm people or animals
Behaviors that destroy property such as fire setting, breaking windows or graffiti
Stealing, bullying or lying to get something
Serious violations of rules, including school truancy and running away from home

What Causes Disruptive Behavior Disorders?

Research has identified both biological and environmental causes for Disruptive Behavior Disorders. Youngsters most at risk for Oppositional Defiant and Conduct Disorders are those who have low birth weight, neurological damage or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Youngsters may also be at risk if they were rejected by their mothers as babies, separated from their parents and not given good foster care, physically or sexually abused, raised in homes with mothers who were abused, or living in poverty.

How can Disruptive Behavior Disorders be treated?

Because so many of the factors that cause Disruptive Behavior Disorders happen very early in a child’s life, it is important to recognize the problems as early as possible and get treatment. The treatment that has shown the best results is a combination of:

Specialized parent skills training
Behavior therapies to teach young people how to control and express feelings in healthy ways
Coordination of services with the young person’s school and other involved agencies
Parent training and therapy with the child or adolescent, most effective when done in the family home

No medications have been consistently useful in reducing the symptoms of Oppositional Defiant or Conduct Disorders. Medications may be helpful to some young people, but they tend to have side effects that must be monitored carefully.

The sections below provide links to web sites that give additional information about Disruptive Behavior Disorders as well as a link to Westchester County Mental Health Services, a database which includes local service providers who provide treatment for Disruptive Behavior Disorders.

Additional Information about Disruptive Behavior Disorders

Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter3/sec6.html
This is the first report on mental health from the United States Surgeon General. It was issued in December 1999. This site gives a clear, detailed summary of Disruptive Behavior Disorders, their symptoms, causes and effective treatments.

National Mental Health Association (NMHA)
http://www.nmha.org/infoctr/factsheets/74.cfm
NMHA is a national organization dedicated to promoting mental health through education and advocacy. This site gives a good description of Conduct Disorder.

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/72.htm
The Academy is an organization for physicians trained to diagnose and treat mental illnesses and emotional disturbances in children and adolescents. This site gives a short description of Oppositional Defiant Disorder, its symptoms and effective treatments.

http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/conduct.htm
This site gives a short description of Conduct Disorder, its symptoms and effective treatments.

Westchester County Mental Health Services

For information about mental health services offered in Westchester and Putnam counties in the state of New York, consult our database of these services.

General instructions for using the database are displayed before you click on the [Search Westchester Services] button.

To focus on services for children and adolescents who may have Disruptive Behavior Disorders, use the Keyword feature. Click on the [Keyword Search] button in the lower right corner of the database. When the next screen comes up:

Enter conduct in the left box
Click on the "Include Use Terms" box
Click on the "Include See Also Terms" box
Click on the [Search] button

From the list of services displayed, click on the one closest to your area of interest.

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