Nobody’s perfect and all children will have bouts of bad

behaviour. They may have tempertantrums, or talk back

Children and teens can seem irritable or even hostile often do things to deliberately annoy other people. Most
when they are tired or aren’t feeling well. They may of their defiant behaviour is directed at people in
argue with parents or disobey them because they are authority, but they also sometimes behave the same way
trying to show that they’re growing up. towards their siblings, playmates, or classmates. Their
home life, school life, and peer relationships are
Young children may lie because they are too young to
seriously negatively affected because of the way they
understand the difference between the truth and a
think and behave.
lie. Sometimes they lie to get themselves out of
trouble. This is normal. When they
Conduct Disorder (CD)
act this way all the time, or when this
Disruptive behaviour Conduct Disorder (CD) is diagnosed when
behaviour gets them into trouble all
disorders can be children are aggressive all the time in a
the time at home, at school, or with
identified in pre- way that causes problems for them and
other kids in the neighbourhood, they
schoolers. their family. They may threaten or actually
may have what we call a disruptive
harm people or animals, or they may
behaviour disorder.
If untreated, these damage or destroy property. They may
There are two main types of children are more steal or shoplift, or even be involved in
disruptive behaviour disorders – likely to fail at school breaking and entering. They often lie or try
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and have difficulty to “con” other people. They frequently skip
and Conduct Disorder (CD). holding a job in later school. A child with CD is not just a child
life. being “bad”; CD is a serious psychiatric
A child who has a lot of temper
tantrums, or is disobedient or argues disorder that requires professional help.
with adults or peers on a regular basis, may have
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). More serious How common are behaviour problems?
problems like frequent physical aggression, stealing,
Disruptive behaviour disorders appear to be more
or bullying may be signs of Conduct Disorder (CD).
common in boys than in girls, and they are more
Children with Conduct Disorder often have trouble common in urban than in rural areas. Between 5%
understanding how other people think and have and 15% of school-aged children have ODD. A little
trouble talking to others. They may think that other over 4% of school-aged children are diagnosed with
people are being mean to them or wish them harm CD.
when that isn’t the case at all. Their language skills
may be impaired, which means they have trouble How long do they last?
using words and may misbehave instead. They may
Behaviours that may signal the beginnings of ODD or
not know how to make friends with other children,
CD can be identified in preschoolers. Most children
and may feel sad, frustrated, and angry as a result.
with ODD symptoms grow out of them but some do
not. Some may go on to develop CD. Children and
Types of Behaviour Problems
adolescents with ODD or CD whose symptoms are
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) not treated early are more likely to fail at school, be
Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) is a type of unable to sustain romantic relationships, and have
behaviour problem in which children are openly difficulty holding a job later in life. They are also
hostile, uncooperative, and irritable. They lose their more likely to commit crimes as young people and as
tempers and are mean and spiteful towards others. They adults.
 What causes behaviour problems? What treatments are effective?
Many children with ODD have other mental health Programs that can be effective include parent
problems like depression, anxiety, or Attention training, family therapy, and Multisystemic Therapy
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Their difficult (MST), an intensive program that addresses the
behaviours are often a reaction to feeling sad, needs of the child, their family, school, and
anxious, or having trouble focusing. community simultaneously. Approaches to the child
that are punitive or threatening in nature are not
Children with ODD are more likely than other
shown to be effective and may even cause more harm
children to have a family history of behaviour
than good.
problems, mood problems, or substance abuse.
Sometimes if there is conflict between family Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help
members or exposure to violence, children will children with ODD improve their mood and control
respond by developing the symptoms of ODD. their anger. CBT works by making the child aware of
Having a mother with untreated depression also the thinking patterns that fuel their behaviour, and
makes children more likely to have ODD. Both ODD teaching them ways of counteracting that thinking.
and CD are associated with harsh parenting
Social skills training may also be helpful to the child
practices.
with ODD. Family therapy that helps change how the
family functions can also help.
What’s normal and what’s not?
In treatment, it is very important to focus on other
It is important to understand that children can start
mental health difficulties the child may have.
showing difficult behaviours when there are other
Children who have ADHD, depression, or anxiety tend
stresses in their lives. It may be that there has been
to lose symptoms of ODD when their other problems
a death in the family, or their parents are having
are successfully treated. Medication can be helpful
arguments, or they are being bullied at school.
for the child’s other conditions. Consulting a mental
Reassuring the child and providing extra care may
health professional for diagnosis is an important part
help to get them through these stressful times. But
of treatment.
if the child doesn’t feel better and their behaviour
doesn’t improve, it is important to seek professional CD treatment options are similar to those for ODD.
help, particularly if the problems last many months As CD symptoms typically occur both inside and out
and are severe. of the home, treatment often requires multiple
approaches used at the same time.

OTHER RESOURCES:
More resources are available at offordcentre.com.

Please visit offordcentre.com/research/knowledge/resources for websites and books on this topic.

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