Conduct Disorders and Aggression

This edition of The Bridge is on the topic of conduct disorders and aggression.

Behavioural difficulties are common presentations to child and adolescent mental health services. They also have impacts on the individual, their peers, family and the different environments that a child is exposed to e.g. home and school. Often behavioural difficulties are excluded from commissioned mental health services for children and young people. However, there are effective treatments and the longer a behavioural presentation is left untreated/unmanaged the more difficult it can be to change the entrenched behaviours.

Children and young people with conduct disorders often have additional comorbid learning difficulties, neurodevelopmental or mental health disorders, so it is important to be able to assess, recognise and offer appropriate interventions. The effects on a young person’s future and society may be significant if not managed well.

In this edition of The Bridge there are summaries of research from ACAMH’s journals written by the original authors and our in-house science writer; covering severe sibling aggression, delinquency and a review of the literature on psychosocial treatments for conduct disorder.

I hope that you enjoy reading them and please let ACAMH know your thoughts.