childhood disorders
, Lecture 1
Childhood Disorders: Conduct Disorder
DSM-5 Definition of Conduct Disorder:
● A repetitive and persistent pattern of behaviour in which the basic rights or
rules of others are violated
● Requires 3 out of 15 criteria to be present in the last 12 months, with at least
one criterion present in the last 6 months.
● Distinction: A single wrong action is normal; multiple instances indicate a
pattern.
DSM-5 Criteria (15 behaviours):
DSM-5 Criteria for Conduct Disorder DSM-5 Criteria for Conduct Disorder
Bullying, threatening, or intimidating others Breaking into someone else's house, building, or car
Initiating physical fights Lying to obtain goods or favours or to avoid
obligations
Has used a weapon causing serious harm Stealing items of non-trivial value without
confrontation
Physically cruel to people Staying out at night before age 13 despite rules
Physically cruel to animals Running away from home (twice or once for long)
Stealing while confronting a victim Often truant from school before age 13
Forcing someone into sexual activity Fire setting with intent to cause damage
Link to Adult Disorders:
● Children with conduct disorder cannot be diagnosed as adults, but the pattern of
behaviour is very similar to antisocial personality disorder in adults.
Questions a Psychologist Should Ask (when assessing conduct disorder):
● What else is happening in the child's life? (e.g., other things leading to the
behaviour rather than just the disorder).
● Family setting and functioning: Parental conflict, abuse, socioeconomic
status, availability of food.
● Presence of remorse or guilt: Kids who are callous and unemotional and
don't feel guilt are on a "nasty trajectory towards antisocial personality
disorder".
● Medical and family history: Looking for patterns passed down.
, ● Developmental history: Checking if developmental milestones (crawling,
walking, talking on time) were met.
Theoretical Perspectives for Understanding Childhood Disorders
1. The Ecological Model (Urie Bronfenbrenner):
● A metaphor originating from developmental psychology which is emphasising
that "the whole picture matters" as Changes in one area can affect others,
similar to pollution in a lake affecting its ecosystem.
● It is A scientific paradigm used in psychology, public health, and other
disciplines that gives us a pattern for the way in which we ask questions and the
kind of things we consider to be a part of a legitimate inquiry
● The model provides a useful lens to understand childhood disorders, moving
beyond just the family context, and identifying factors that might put individuals
at risk
● Bronfenbrenner, a Russian Jewish immigrant, conceptualised it like Russian
nesting dolls, with the individual child at the centre.
Bronfenbrenner's System Levels:
1. Individual Child: A child is born with Innate characteristics like gender and
age, the child will have a temperament.
2. Microsystem: Direct, everyday environments that have a direct impact on the
child and where the child has direct feedback. The child is surrounded by their
family, peer group and school and these are the everyday environments that
have a direct impact on the child which is why this is the most influential level.
3. Mesosystem: Interactions between microsystems.
○ Examples: a key thing in child development is the parents attending PTA
meetings or school functions, parents checking homework, parents
knowing their child's friends and their parents.
4. Exosystem: External contexts that indirectly affect the child.
○ Examples: Neighborhoods (e.g., exposure to drugs/crime), extended
family, available services, media.
○ Parent's workplace: Can influence child-rearing values (e.g., bureaucratic
jobs fostering obedience vs. entrepreneurial jobs fostering creativity).
○ Daycare: Quality of daycare can influence infant attachment.
5. Macrosystem: Broader cultural context.
, ○ Examples: Government social programs and policies, socioeconomic
status, cultural attitudes and ideologies (e.g., patriarchal cultures vs.
non-violence).
○ Influences what's available in the exosystem (e.g., public transport access
or the area that you live in).
6. Chronosystem: The influence of time and life, historical and social events on
development.
○ Example: Impact of parental divorce felt most strongly about a year later,
or losing a parent as a child might be different than as an adult
7. Interaction: All levels affect each other. The model stresses looking at the
whole of society, not just the child and family.
Upstream vs. Downstream Model:
● Another version of the ecological model
● Used frequently in public health to distinguish between "downstream" and
"upstream" factors.
Downstream:
● biological factors that you're born with
● behavioral factors that you bring into a situation/individual actions
Upstream: Focuses on societal and structural factors.
● Societal: Broader cultural discussions, values, and norms (e.g., vaccination
myths, valuing decent housing).
● Structural: Availability of resources, physical environment, policies (e.g., fluoride
in water, availability of vaccines, physical housing quality, funding for housing)
→ eg. during covid there was a lot of debate about the vaccine and if it was safe or
not = societal; however the access and availability to the vaccine = structural
Example :
a) Having holes in your teeth
- To a certain extent biological (downstream = biological born factors)
- Behavioural things like flossing and brushing would also lead to holes
(downstream = individual actions )
- Is their fluoride in your water = holes (upstream = structural ie.
availability of resources )
2. Risk and Protective Factors:
● Risk Factors: Increase the likelihood of a poor outcome.
● Protective Factors: Increase the likelihood of a good outcome in a risky context.
, Lecture 1
Childhood Disorders: Conduct Disorder
DSM-5 Definition of Conduct Disorder:
● A repetitive and persistent pattern of behaviour in which the basic rights or
rules of others are violated
● Requires 3 out of 15 criteria to be present in the last 12 months, with at least
one criterion present in the last 6 months.
● Distinction: A single wrong action is normal; multiple instances indicate a
pattern.
DSM-5 Criteria (15 behaviours):
DSM-5 Criteria for Conduct Disorder DSM-5 Criteria for Conduct Disorder
Bullying, threatening, or intimidating others Breaking into someone else's house, building, or car
Initiating physical fights Lying to obtain goods or favours or to avoid
obligations
Has used a weapon causing serious harm Stealing items of non-trivial value without
confrontation
Physically cruel to people Staying out at night before age 13 despite rules
Physically cruel to animals Running away from home (twice or once for long)
Stealing while confronting a victim Often truant from school before age 13
Forcing someone into sexual activity Fire setting with intent to cause damage
Link to Adult Disorders:
● Children with conduct disorder cannot be diagnosed as adults, but the pattern of
behaviour is very similar to antisocial personality disorder in adults.
Questions a Psychologist Should Ask (when assessing conduct disorder):
● What else is happening in the child's life? (e.g., other things leading to the
behaviour rather than just the disorder).
● Family setting and functioning: Parental conflict, abuse, socioeconomic
status, availability of food.
● Presence of remorse or guilt: Kids who are callous and unemotional and
don't feel guilt are on a "nasty trajectory towards antisocial personality
disorder".
● Medical and family history: Looking for patterns passed down.
, ● Developmental history: Checking if developmental milestones (crawling,
walking, talking on time) were met.
Theoretical Perspectives for Understanding Childhood Disorders
1. The Ecological Model (Urie Bronfenbrenner):
● A metaphor originating from developmental psychology which is emphasising
that "the whole picture matters" as Changes in one area can affect others,
similar to pollution in a lake affecting its ecosystem.
● It is A scientific paradigm used in psychology, public health, and other
disciplines that gives us a pattern for the way in which we ask questions and the
kind of things we consider to be a part of a legitimate inquiry
● The model provides a useful lens to understand childhood disorders, moving
beyond just the family context, and identifying factors that might put individuals
at risk
● Bronfenbrenner, a Russian Jewish immigrant, conceptualised it like Russian
nesting dolls, with the individual child at the centre.
Bronfenbrenner's System Levels:
1. Individual Child: A child is born with Innate characteristics like gender and
age, the child will have a temperament.
2. Microsystem: Direct, everyday environments that have a direct impact on the
child and where the child has direct feedback. The child is surrounded by their
family, peer group and school and these are the everyday environments that
have a direct impact on the child which is why this is the most influential level.
3. Mesosystem: Interactions between microsystems.
○ Examples: a key thing in child development is the parents attending PTA
meetings or school functions, parents checking homework, parents
knowing their child's friends and their parents.
4. Exosystem: External contexts that indirectly affect the child.
○ Examples: Neighborhoods (e.g., exposure to drugs/crime), extended
family, available services, media.
○ Parent's workplace: Can influence child-rearing values (e.g., bureaucratic
jobs fostering obedience vs. entrepreneurial jobs fostering creativity).
○ Daycare: Quality of daycare can influence infant attachment.
5. Macrosystem: Broader cultural context.
, ○ Examples: Government social programs and policies, socioeconomic
status, cultural attitudes and ideologies (e.g., patriarchal cultures vs.
non-violence).
○ Influences what's available in the exosystem (e.g., public transport access
or the area that you live in).
6. Chronosystem: The influence of time and life, historical and social events on
development.
○ Example: Impact of parental divorce felt most strongly about a year later,
or losing a parent as a child might be different than as an adult
7. Interaction: All levels affect each other. The model stresses looking at the
whole of society, not just the child and family.
Upstream vs. Downstream Model:
● Another version of the ecological model
● Used frequently in public health to distinguish between "downstream" and
"upstream" factors.
Downstream:
● biological factors that you're born with
● behavioral factors that you bring into a situation/individual actions
Upstream: Focuses on societal and structural factors.
● Societal: Broader cultural discussions, values, and norms (e.g., vaccination
myths, valuing decent housing).
● Structural: Availability of resources, physical environment, policies (e.g., fluoride
in water, availability of vaccines, physical housing quality, funding for housing)
→ eg. during covid there was a lot of debate about the vaccine and if it was safe or
not = societal; however the access and availability to the vaccine = structural
Example :
a) Having holes in your teeth
- To a certain extent biological (downstream = biological born factors)
- Behavioural things like flossing and brushing would also lead to holes
(downstream = individual actions )
- Is their fluoride in your water = holes (upstream = structural ie.
availability of resources )
2. Risk and Protective Factors:
● Risk Factors: Increase the likelihood of a poor outcome.
● Protective Factors: Increase the likelihood of a good outcome in a risky context.
