Conduct disorder is a difficult disorder for any child, youth, or adult who has been diagnosed. Parents, teachers, friends, and peers are also affected by the disorder and bad habits acquired by the Conduct Disorder child. This disorder is full of challenges and rule breaking threats to everyone’s well-being and safety. However with the growing number of children and adolescence diagnosed, treatments are being tested and are resulting in positive ways.
This disorder is found to be more common in boys then girls and the extent of the damage done by these gender differences varies. Boys tend to commit more violent and vandalizing acts, such as physical fighting, vandalism, and have more disciplinary problems in school. Where as girls tend to do things such as lying, running away, truancy, and prostitution (Nevid, Green, Johnson, &Taylor, 2001). These are only some of the actions committed by those with Conduct disorder. Three stages lead to different crimes. The beginning stage known as the mild stage has more tame offenses such as staying out past parental curfews, breaking promises, and conning. The moderate stage deals with deeper crimes such as stealing, physical fighting and bullying and sabotaging. The severe level is the most serious of the three; acts such as physical cruelty, rape, breaking and entering, and even homicides are seen. These levels grow with age, which is why it is important to diagnose and get help with Conduct Disorder at the earliest age possible.
The rate of children with Conduct Disorder has grown from less then one percent to ten percent in the last few decades (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), and with the growing rate more treatments are being discovered and used. Medications such as antipsychotic and stimulant drugs are now being used to reduce anti-social behaviour. Specific programs, treatments, settings, and operant conditioning procedures are highly used and work efficiently by setting strict rules for the children...