While there have been significant advances in the treatment of conduct disorder (CD), there is still a need to seek and develop therapeutic solutions that can overcome the poor long-term prognosis. In this evidence-based research, we evaluated the effect of immediate REACH Forgiveness training on the severity of aggressiveness among adolescents…

Objective: This study aims to delineate the characteristics of severe self-injurious behaviors (SIB) in a cohort of children with autism and unspecified intellectual developmental disorder (UIDD) (intellectual disability) and examine potential risk factors for developing SIB. Methods: A retrospective chart review studied characteristics of severe…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are reported to have greater levels of anger rumination than typically developing children. This study examined anger rumination in children with ASD in comparison to children with disruptive behavior disorder without ASD. We also tested if anger rumination is associated with aggression and the core ASD…

Conduct disorder (CD) is a pattern of repeated aggression toward others, disregard for the rights of others, and behaviors that violate major social norms at home, in school, and even in society at large (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Falling under the umbrella of "conduct problems" along with oppositional defiant…

A percentage of individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities engage in severe, dangerous challenging behaviors. Two common approaches for intervening for these behaviors are function-based interventions (FBI), which have been effective at reducing such behaviors, and crisis intervention, which has been shown to increase staff…

The authors examined the degree to which callous-unemotional traits and narcissism predict relational aggression, social aggression, and prosocial skills in a sample of 79 adolescent offenders (13-18 years old; 26% girls; 74% boys) attending a school for youth with behavior disorders in the Mid-Atlantic United States. Narcissism made a significant…

Serious antisocial behavior in children and adolescents poses significant challenges within educational settings and is one of the most important concerns facing educators today. The disorder of particular interest to the development of aggressive and antisocial behaviors in youth is conduct disorder (CD). Conduct disorder is characterized by…

The issue of loneliness in adolescents with conduct disorder falls into the category of internalizing behaviors or disorders. These disorders frequently manifest themselves as externalizing disorders that are often diagnosed or categorized as conduct disorder. This paper examines the relationship of loneliness as it relates to reactive and…

Existing research that attempts to understand aggressive behavior often focuses on adults and/or individual traits. The present study used a Grounded Theory approach to develop a theoretical framework of how younger adolescents constructed an understanding of their own aggressive behavior within the social context of their lives. The participants…

This discussion is drawn from the writings of two eminent founders of strength-based approaches to troubled children and adolescents. August Aichhorn is best known for his classic book, "Wayward Youth," and Fritz Redl as co-author of "Children Who Hate". August Aichhorn and Anna Freud mentored a young educational psychologist, Fritz Redl…

The maladaptive personality and neuropsychological features of highly relationally aggressive females were examined in a group of 30 grade 6, 7, and 8 girls and group-matched controls. Employing a multistage cluster sampling procedure, a group of highly, yet almost exclusively, relationally aggressive females were identified and matched on a…

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits have proven important for designating children and adolescents showing a pattern of particularly severe, stable, and aggressive antisocial behaviors (Frick, Ray, Thornton, & Kahn, 2014). Individuals with secondary CU traits represent a subpopulation that are distinguished from those with primary CU traits by…

Aggression is a clinically significant problem for many children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, there have been few large-scale studies addressing this issue. The current study examined the prevalence and correlates of physical aggression in a sample of 1584 children and adolescents with ASD enrolled in the Autism…

Brief experimental analysis (BEA) is a useful tool for quickly evaluating intervention strategies for individuals with academic deficits and minor behavior problems. However, there is a lack of research investigating BEA for intervention strategies with individuals who emit severe problem behavior to avoid academic demands. For the current study,…

Background: Psychopathic traits are associated with increases in antisocial behaviors such as aggression and are characterized by reduced empathy for others' distress. This suggests that psychopathic traits may also impair empathic pain sensitivity. However, whether psychopathic traits affect responses to the pain of others versus the self…