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Chaos with kids

The developmental process from infancy to adulthood to the aging years is quite complex inviting us to take part in a myriad of situations, conflicts and challenges that along the way shape who we are.

This journey is crucial at every stage but perhaps most formative in children as they try and master new skills, make sense of the world around them and allow both their nature (biology) and nurture (environment) to dialectically have an impact on their growth and perception of reality.

At one point during a child or adolescent’s lifetime, As Ms Abdel Sattar a criminologist based in Dubai at the Human Relations Institute, points out, they may act out and engage in behaviors that are troublesome or even harmful to themselves and others. Kids go through a lot of changes and stressful events during their childhood and adolescent years, and each copes in their own way, some tend to be destructive. This type of destructive behavior can be displayed in a number of ways; amongst those is the development of what psychologists have termed as Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), eventually leading to Conduct Disorder (CD) and even Anti-Social Personality Disorder (APD) (Loeber et al. 1989).

What we call OPD is diagnosed in a child who has an ongoing persistent pattern of disobedient, hostile, and defiant behaviors towards authority figures, usually parents and/or teachers, which goes beyond what we would define as “normal” child behavior. These children tend to be stubborn, excessively and easily angered or annoyed, and have frequent uncontrollable temper tantrums. This causes the family and school a lot of distress, and affects the child’s social functioning and school performance. If OPD is left untreated, children can escalate to develop CD, where the child repetitively breaks rules by engaging in a host of behaviors that include verbal and physical aggression towards others and/or animals, engage in frequent lying and vandalism, and even illegal behaviors, such as stealing (Loeber et al. 1989).

Abdel Sattar claims that parents sometimes make the common mistake of quickly diagnosing their child, in fact, almost half of parents with children ages 4-6 tend to report that their children engage in such behaviors, which decreases significantly within a few years, and only 5 per cent of children do in fact have serious conduct disorders. Keep in mind that such behaviors, if left untreated and continue past the age of 18, can lead to the development of APD. APD is commonly diagnosed when individuals have symptoms of depression, have problems of substance abuse (drugs or alcoholism), become more prone to committing suicide, and engage in crimes, placing them at risk of being imprisoned.

Disorders such as ODD, CD, and APD have been found to be more common in boys than girls, but of course there are a number of other causes for these childhood problems. Some of these reasons are biological, such as inheritance of a difficult temperament, or social-environmental as well, such as ineffective or destructive parenting or living in a bad neighborhood where crime or violence are a norm. Other research also finds common links between children who have CD or OPD to also have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) (Biederman et al. 1991).

This information should begin to shed light on the matter and remember there are different treatment methods available. Research has frequently shown that the most successful treatment is behavioral therapy, which takes place with the child and family as well. Of course, parenting is a very important factor in the development of a child. We also know that parents who are neglectful of their children can in fact lead to problems like ODD, CD, and APD. In addition to that, ineffective parenting techniques, such as accidentally rewarding a child for problematic thoughts or behaviors, can further exasperate such disorders as well.

So if your child’s school teacher, babysitter, or pediatrician describes him or her as aggressive or overly hyperactive, or if you, as a parent, a family member, or even a friend, see a child engage in similar behaviors that are distressing the family, seek help. Help and assistance can be provided by professional psychologists that will help you and your child adjust your behaviors in order to enhance your child’s academic performance at school along with their social skills in their daily lives, leading to their healthy psychological and social growth.

—Samineh I Shaheem is an author, an assistant professor of psychology, currently lecturing in Dubai, as well as a cross cultural consultant at the Human Relations Institute. She has appeared on numerous radio programs and conferences and has studied and worked in different parts of the world, including the United States of America, UK, Netherlands, and the UAE. Please forward your thoughts to OutOfMindContact@gmail.com