Psychology 430 Developmental Antecedents to Offending Behavior

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Psychology 430Developmental Antecedentsto
Offending Behavior

• Guest Lecture
• T. Diane Sirkia, MA

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Childhood Psychopathology - Oppositional Defiant
Disorder

• Prevalence 2 6 reported
• More males than female before puberty, but evens
  out after puberty
• Symptoms similar in both genders, but males more
  confrontational symptoms more persistent
• Usually appears before age 8 years not later
  than early adolescence
• Symptoms often emerge at home, but over time may
  occur elsewhere
• Onset usually gradual (months or years)

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ODD Diagnostic Criteria

• A pattern of negativistic, hostile defiant
  behavior lasting at least 6 mths, including 4 or
  more of
• Often loses temper
• Often argues with adults
• Often actively defies of refuses to comply with
  adults requests or rules
• Often deliberately annoys people
• Often blames others for own mistakes or
  misbehavior

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• Is often touchy or easily annoyed by others
• Is often angry resentful
• Is often spiteful or vindictive
• The disturbance in behavior causes clinically
  significant impairment in social, academic, or
  occupational functioning
• The behaviors do not occur exclusively during the
  course of a Psychotic or Mood Disorder
• Criterion are not met for Conduct Disorder

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ODD Associated Features

• In males, ODD more prevalent if, in preschool
  years, the child has a problem temperament (e.g.,
  high reactivity, difficult to sooth, high motor
  activity)
• During school years may be low self-esteem, mood
  lability, low frustration tolerance, swearing,
  precocious use of substances
• Often conflict with parents, teachers peers
• May be vicious cycle of escalating behavior
  between caregivers child

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• More prevalent in families in which childcare is
  disrupted by a succession of different caregivers
• And in families who use harsh, inconsistent or
  neglectful childrearing practices
• ADHD is often comorbid, as are learning disorders
  Communication Disorders

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ODD Familial Pattern

• ODD appears to be more common in families where
  at least one parent has a history of Mood
  Disorder, ODD, Conduct Disorder, ADHD, APD, or
  Substance Abuse
• Also more common in families with serious marital
  discord

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Conduct Disorder

• Prevalence For those under age 18 Males from 6
  16 females 2 9
• On the increase in recent years, especially in
  urban areas
• Onset may be as early as age 5/6 years
• Usually in late childhood or early adolescence
  onset rare after age 16
• Course is variable some remit some persist into
  adulthood as APD

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CD Diagnostic Criteria

• A. A repetitive persistent pattern of behavior
  in which the basic rights of others or major
  age-appropriate societal norms or rules are
  violated, as manifested by the presence of at
  least 3 or more of the following
• Aggression to People or Animals
• Often bullies, threatens, or intimidates others
• Often initiates physical fights
• Has used a weapon that can cause serious physical
  harm to others
• Has been physically cruel to people

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• 5. Has been physically cruel to animals
• 6. Has stolen while confronting a victim
• 7. Has forced someone into sexual activity
• Destruction of property
• 8. Has deliberately engaged in fire setting with
  the intention of causing serious damage
• 9. Has deliberately destroyed others property

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• Deceitfulness or Theft
• 10. Has broken into someone elses house,
  building or car
• 11. Often lies to obtain goods or favours or to
  avoid obligations
• 12. Has stolen items of nontrivial value without
  confronting a victim
• Serious violations of Rules
• 13. Often stays out all night despite parental
  prohibitions, beginning before age 13
• 14. Has run away from home overnight at least
  twice
• 15. Is often truant from school beginning pre 13

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• The disturbance in behavior causes clinically
  significant impairment in social, academic or
  occupational functioning
• If the individual is age 18 or older, criteria
  are not met for Antisocial Personality Disorder
• Also have to code for subtype and severity

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CD - Subtypes

• Childhood Onset defined by the onset of at least
  one criterion characteristic of CD prior to age
  10
• Usually male
• Frequently aggressive towards others
• Have disturbed peer relationships
• May have had ODD during early childhood
• Usually have diagnosis of CD before puberty
• CD is more likely to persist develop into APD

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CD - Subtypes

• Adolescent Onset defined by the absence of any
  criteria characteristic of CD prior to age 10
• Compared to Early Onset individuals, they are
  less likely to display aggressive behaviors
• Tend to have more normative peer relationships
• Less likely to have persistent CD or to develop
  APD
• Ratio of malefemale not as marked as with Early
  Onset type

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CD Associated Features

• May have little empathy for others little
  concern for the feelings, wishes well-being of
  others
• Especially in ambiguous situations, aggressive
  individuals with CD may frequently misperceive
  the intentions of others as more hostile
  threatening than is the case respond with
  aggression that they feel is reasonable
  justified
• May be callous lack appropriate feelings of
  guilt remorse

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CD Associated Features Cont.

• May co-occur with Anxiety Disorders, Mood
  Disorders Substance Related Disorders
• Factors that may predispose an individual to CD
  include
• parental rejection neglect
• difficult infant temperament
• inconsistent child-rearing practices with harsh
  discipline
• physical or sexual abuse
• lack of supervision

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• early institutional living
• frequent changes in caregivers
• large family size
• association with delinquent peer group
• certain familial psychopathology (e.g., APD,
  Alcoholism, Mood Disorders, Schizophrenia, ADHD
  or CD)

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Youth in Custody Reality Check

• Moretti Odgers, 2000
• Data from study of girls at BYSCC
• Demographics
• Average age 16 yrs
• 48 ethnic minority of which 42 are Aboriginal
  (vs. lt1 of BCs pop. Being aboriginal girls)
• Average grade 8 48 in school

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• 30 ward of state
• Average number of placements o/s home 11.4
• Family history Alcohol abuse 80 Physical
  abuse 65 Sexual abuse 45
• Nature of charges lt6 violent 25 serious
  non-violent e.g., theft 68 delinquent acts
  e.g., breaches
• High levels of comorbid substance abuse using
  crack, heroin, coke, crystal meth
• Attachment styles 48 fearful 38 preoccupied
  5 dismissing

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• Gender differences?
• No differences w/early onset CD vs. late onset
• For girls psychopathology existed prior to
  diagnosis of CD, as did
• 30 substance abuse prior to CD, and
• Separation anxiety prior to CD, and
• ODD prior to CD
• Boys significantly more likely to engage in
  vandalism to set fires than girls

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Psychopathy in Children?

• Growing interest in concept of psychopathy in
  children
• Frick et al (1998, 2000) has attempted to extend
  idea to children
• Tries to identify childhood precursors by
  focusing on callous and unemotional traits (CU)
  (e.g., lack of guilt, absence of empathy, shallow
  constricted emotions)
• Evidence in support Children with high levels of
  CU display greater severity variety of
  antisocial behavior have more early contact
  with police than those w/o CU traits

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• Only conduct children with CU traits show a
  reward-dominant response style that characterizes
  avoidance learning deficits found in psychopathic
  adults
• They also show preference for thrill adventure
  seeking activities
• Less likely to show intellectual deficits,
  especially verbal deficits
• Conduct problems less strongly associated with
  problem parenting

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Coercive Family Process (Patterson, 1992)

• Studies at Oregon Social Learning Center led to
  model of the development of CD involving social
  learning mechanisms
• One of keys is pattern of recurring parent-child
  interactions in which child learns to control
  others by coercive means
• Child then generalizes this to other interactions
• Child temperament, environment, SES, parental
  psychopathology can all influence parent-child
  interactions