Behavioral and conduct disorders

Behavioral and Conduct Disorders

Behavior and conduct disorders are more common in boys than in girls. Statistics show that boys have a higher rate ranging up to 16% while for girls it ranges up to 9%. This paper will discuss how these disorders are diagnosed and the factors that contribute to diagnosis. It will also look at the long term and short term effects of over diagnosis to the child. The criteria for diagnosing behavior and conduct disorders involves a monotonous and continuous pattern of behavior where rights of main societal norms have been violated. Diagnosis methods for behavioral disorders include involving a specialist for example a pediatrician, psychiatrist or a psychologist (Mash & Wolfe, 2018). They conduct interviews with the child’s parents, guardians, and tools such as questionnaires and behavior checklists.

Teenagers can change their behavior due to different issues and it is good for the parent or guardian to involve the services of a specialist such a child psychologist Lack of communication can be one of the triggers that can lead to more frequent tantrums in a day by the child. Violence is another indicator where teenagers can hurt themselves or other people. In such cases, a behavioral and conduct diagnosis is necessary to create a plan to start dealing with the issues.

There are various factors that contribute to over diagnosing the behavioral and conduct disorders (Cathcart, 2017). One of the reasons is that children have moments of misbehavior in the course of their development. Such moments may be excessive in some children but this does not necessarily mean it is a disorder. They might be going through a growth phase. Many of these excessive behavior scenarios may look like those of children diagnosed with the disorder. Change in lifestyle, new environment or issues at home are some of the factors likely to influence change in behavior in children. These factors lead to mistakes such in diagnosis, criterial for diagnosis and health system pressures which in turn lead to over diagnosis. It is important to be aware of any changes that may affect the behavior of the child.

In a scenario of misdiagnosis, which is different from overtreatment or overuse. Overuse is excess prescription of medication or medical procedures to a patient who has already diagnosed whether correctly or incorrectly. Long term effects of over diagnosis end up hurting the child more than helping them. It can prevent the child from achieving their full potential. When a learning institution uses resources on children who are not in need of them, the institution only denies children in need the opportunity to utilize those resources. Another effect is prescribing medicine to a child who does not need them. Short term implications include exposing the child to a lot of unnecessary change. Parents, teachers and guardians should be aware of their child’s behavior to be able to notice any changes and the triggers of those changes. They should make sure they consult a doctor or specialists when they notice a change in their child’s behavior. The specialist will help in identifying the cause of that cause and giving the correct diagnosis to avoid over diagnosis and other mistakes. These mistakes may cause long term and short term implications that are of potential danger to the child.

References

Cathcart, S. (2017, October 15). Study examines Overdiagnosis of mental health disorders in childhood. Mad In America. https://www.madinamerica.com/2017/10/study-examines-overdiagnosis-mental-health-disorders-childhood/

Mash, E. J., & Wolfe, D. A. (2018). Abnormal child psychology. Cengage Learning.