Conduct Disorder in Adolescents Essay -- Psychology Psychiatry Parenti

Conduct Disorder in Adolescents Everyday we are hearing more and more about a child or teen that has committed some horrible act. On Tuesday April 27, 2004 a twelve-year-old Georgia boy was arrested for allegedly using â€Å"his hands to strangle a third grader who disappeared while riding her bicycle†(McLaughlin, 2004). In February, a twelve-year-old girl was beaten to unconsciousness by a group of adolescents and young adults while at a birthday party in Baltimore. The question we must ask ourselves is where are the parents? Sadly, in the case of the Baltimore girl, one of the young adults was the parent of one of the children. How do children learn that violent and socially deviant behavior is acceptable? Both of these scenarios would meet the criteria for a psychological finding of conduct disorder (CD). The diagnosis of conduct disorder in adolescents can be directly attributed to the continuing lack of parental involvement and support in the child’s life. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders text revision 4th edition (DSM-IV-TR) states that â€Å"the essential feature of Conduct Disorder is a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate societal norms or rules are violated†(2000). The DSM-IV-TR goes on to list criteria for conduct disorder as, aggression to people or animals (i.e. forced sexual activity or mugging), destruction of property (i.e. fire setting), deceitfulness or theft (i.e. burglary or forgery), and serious violations of the rules (i.e. running away for periods of time) (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). A child must have at least three of those criteria present in the past year, with at least one manifested in the p... ...d do not get to see their parents until bedtime. In other cases, the child is left at home to look after and care for their younger siblings. As a result, they neglect school and their own childhood. The amount of hatred and distrust that must build up in that child is immeasurable. It is apparent that the â€Å"home-alone America† trend will create a breading ground for conduct disorder. Moreover, society is heading towards creating a generation who â€Å"may have little empathy and little concern for the feelings, wishes and well-being of others† (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). A child’s attachment to, respect for, and healthy fear of their parents is essential to the child’s’ mental health throughout development. It is time that we take responsibility for our own children and ourselves because if we don’t, what will these children teach the next generation?