WHAT IS CONDUCT PERSONALITY DISORDER? - GEOGRAFÍA - 2025

The conduct disorder personality is characteristic of children and adolescents who indulge in behaviors that violate social norms. These children and adolescents can become juvenile offenders, engage in drugs, and continue these behaviors when they grow up.

In fact, long-term studies show that many adults with antisocial personality disorder develop conduct disorder in childhood. This probability is higher if the child has Conduct Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder.

An important difference between antisocial and conduct disorder is that lack of remorse is included in the former, while the dissocial does not.

Signs and symptoms

Conduct personality disorder is characterized by a persistent disregard for morals, social norms, and the rights and feelings of others.

Children and adolescents with this disorder manipulate and deceive others through superficial wit and charm or through intimidation and violence. They can display arrogance and think negatively of others, and lack remorse for their harmful actions.

Irresponsibility is a central feature of this disorder: they may have difficulty maintaining stable employment and meeting their social and financial obligations.

They are often impulsive and reckless, not considering or ignoring the consequences of their actions, potentially endangering their own safety and that of others. They are frequently aggressive and hostile and may seek provocation.

These people are prone to substance abuse and addiction. This leads to conflicts with the law and criminal offenses.

Attachments and emotional ties are weak, and interpersonal relationships often revolve around manipulation, exploitation, and abuse of others. Although they generally have no trouble building relationships, they may have a hard time maintaining them.

Relationships with family members and relatives are often strained due to their behavior and the problems they frequent.

Who develops it and what consequences can they have?

Conduct personality disorder affects more men than women. Both genetics and traumatic childhood experiences such as child abuse or neglect are believed to play an important role in developing it.

A person with this disorder will often have grown up in difficult family circumstances. One or both parents can abuse alcohol, and conflicts between parents are common. As a result of these problems, social services may become involved in the care of the child.

Causes

Genetic influences

Studies in families, twins, and adopted children suggest that there is a genetic influence on conduct disorder.

However, genetic factors can be important only in the presence of certain environmental influences. Alternatively, environmental influences are only important in the presence of genetic influences.

An environmental factor is for example a deficiency in early and quality contact, either with biological or adoptive parents.

Neurobiological influences

It seems clear that a brain injury would not explain why people become psychopaths or criminals.

According to the theory of under-arousal, dissocial children and adolescents have abnormally low levels of cortical arousal

According to the daring hypothesis, dissocial children and adolescents have a higher threshold for experiencing fear than most people.

Psychological and social dimensions

Although little is known about the environmental factors that play a direct role in the origin of this disorder.

Evidence from adoption studies strongly suggests that shared environmental factors are important.

Children with conduct disorder often come from homes with inconsistent parental discipline. However, it is not known whether this lack of discipline directly generates conduct disorder. It is possible that parents have a genetic vulnerability.

Developmental influences

The forms that dissocial behaviors take on children and adolescents change as they grow older.

Clinical knowledge and empirical reports suggest that rates of antisocial behavior decline after 40 years of age.

Comprehensive model

The integral model supports a shortened version of a complex system.

According to this model, biological, psychological and cultural factors contribute to conduct disorder. For example:

• Genetic inheritance: propensity for weak inhibition systems and hyperactive reward systems.
• Cultural: family under stress due to divorce or substance abuse problem. There may be a pattern of family interaction that promotes the child's antisocial behavior.

Treatment

People with this disorder rarely recognize the need for treatment. In fact, this personality disorder is considered one of the most difficult to treat.

Due to their low capacity for remorse, people with this disorder lack sufficient motivation to receive treatment and do not see the costs associated with their antisocial acts.

Some additional issues that can simulate remorse rather than truly commit to change can be seductively charming and dishonest, and can manipulate the practitioner during treatment.

The recommended treatment for a person with Conduct Personality Disorder will depend on their circumstances, taking into account factors such as age, history, and whether there are associated problems, such as alcoholism or drug addiction.

The person's family and friends often play an active role in making decisions about treatment. In some cases, social services may also get involved.

Cognitive behavioral therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is sometimes used to treat Conduct Personality Disorder. It is a therapy that aims to help a person manage their problems by changing the way they think and behave.

Therapists who work with people with the disorder may have negative feelings towards patients with a history of aggressive, exploitative, and abusive behaviors.

Rather than trying to develop empathy and a sense of awareness in these individuals, therapeutic techniques focus on making rational and objective arguments against the repetition of past mistakes.

These approaches would focus on the tangible and objective value of prosocial behavior and on refraining from antisocial behavior. However, the impulsive and aggressive nature of people with this disorder can limit the effectiveness of even this form of therapy.

Medication

The use of drugs to treat antisocial personality disorder has been little investigated, and no drugs have been approved by the FDA.

Psychotropic drugs such as antipsychotics, antidepressants, and mood stabilizers can be used to control symptoms such as aggressiveness and impulsivity, as well as treat other disorders that may coexist.

Treatment in children

The most common treatment strategy for children is parental preparation and training.

They are taught to recognize behavior problems early and to use rewards and privileges to reduce problem behaviors and encourage social ones.

In some programs, these problems are addressed earlier to avoid difficulties arising; the preschool programs combine teaching parents good educational skills with a wide variety of supports for families with social and economic difficulties.

An obstacle to prevention is the difficulty of finding good methods to identify children at risk of developing conduct disorder.

The diagnosis and treatment of comorbid conditions is also a priority; depression is often associated with conduct disorder.

References

1. Hare, RD, Hart, SD, Harpur, TJ Psychopathy and the DSM-IV Criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder (PDF).
2. Black, D. "What Causes Antisocial Personality Disorder?" Psych Central. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
3. Brown, Serena-Lynn; Botsis, Alexander; Van Praag; Herman M. (1994). "Serotonin and Aggression". Journal of Offender Rehabilitation. 3–4 21 (3): 27–39. doi: 10.1300 / J076v21n03_03.
4. The DSM-IV Personality Disorders W. John Livesley, Guilford Press, 1995.