All children sometimes exhibit rebellious or aggressive behavior, which is normal. When norms and values are violated and others are disadvantaged, when temper predominates and there is a lot of fighting, intimidating and intentional bullying and this behavior persists for a long time, then one can speak of a behavioral disorder. If this negative behavior starts before the age of ten, a difficult path will follow and it may even be the case that psychiatric treatment does not help.
Dodge’s social information processing model
Antisocial children often have little empathy and cannot put themselves in the shoes of others. They are often permanently ,politely frustrated,, which makes aggression very likely to occur. These children show deficits and distortions in their social information processing.
Information processing
Typically, social information processing takes place in steps:
- Decoding social signs
- Interpreting social information
- Finding the right answer to the social problem
- Choosing the correct answer
- Execute the chosen solution
- Evaluate the implementation and provide feedback to step one
Children with aggressive behavior cannot interpret social cues, have little self-control and do not have the skills to solve social problems.
Social-cognitive development according to Selman and Byrne
Social-cognitive
- being able to differentiate perspectives (I think/act differently from the other)
- being able to take perspective (I can put myself in the other person’s shoes)
- being able to coordinate perspectives (connecting the two perspectives).
Behaviorally disordered children may have deficits in all three skills.
Aggression according to Stibane
What is aggression
- Aggression is an instinct. This drive must be guided and does not need to be suppressed.
- Aggression can be a response to frustration and manifests itself in words, actions, thoughts or fantasies.
- Aggression can also be a learned behavior. Rewarded behavior is reinforced, disapproved behavior decreases and disappears.
- Aggression due to intrinsic factors of the child (temperament).
- It is much more common in boys than in girls.
Criteria Determining Antisocial Behavior Disorder (APA)
Aggression towards people and animals
- bullying, threatening and intimidating others
- incite fights
- abuse of people and animals, sometimes with a weapon
- armed robbery, purse snatching or extortion
- coerce sexual contact
Destruction of property
- start a fire
- destroy, other than setting fire
Unreliability, deception or theft
- hack
- lying to get things or favors, fraud
- stealing valuables without coming into contact with a victim (forgery, shoplifting)
Serious violation of rules
With all the rules that have been made in our society, some people have big problems. Think of behavior in traffic, the problems around New Year’s Eve, taunting and provoking emergency workers, interacting with others on the street and in public places. And don’t forget the school. Because breaking rules often starts in early childhood.
Running away, staying away from home or skipping school
Because some have problems with the rules set by society, they will exhibit evasive behavior. If one does not agree with what has been stated, one will walk away.
Causes
The causes can (according to Matthijs) be found in the family or in the child’s environment. The cause may also be a brain disorder. The disorder causes quick anger, hitting and kicking. The child sees the environment as hostile. The ability to empathize with others is reduced or distorted.
Individual risk factors
- not feeling guilty
- having few friends, being unpopular
- have poor academic performance
- have a negative self-image
- have difficulty expressing themselves in language
Risk factors in the family
- strict discipline
- antisocial parents
- inconsistent parenting (coercive, manipulative behavior of the child makes parents give in more quickly)
Guidance and treatment
Consistent parenting
Research has shown that behavioral therapies and structured skills training with the family provide relief.
Parents learn to recognize problem behavior, they are supported in parenting and the relationships between parents, and those between parents and child are improved. Preventive intervention for young children can be effective if the intervention takes place at a time when experimentation (appropriate for normal development) is turning into a habit. Behavioral therapy group training, in combination with parenting training, is also important. What a child has learned during training is reinforced and confirmed at school and in the environment. The golden rule applies at home and at school: keep them working. Then boredom will not occur. Boredom leads to derailing behavior. CONSISTENT PARENTING is essential. Do not allow children to be coerced and manipulated.
read more
- Fear of failure, what is that? Cognitive, social or motor
- Behavioral problems in children, the environment does not understand them
- Fear of failure in children, safety and acceptance
- Psychiatric disorders in children and their causes
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