This literature review of family factors associated with externalizing behavior disorders such as hyperactivity and aggression in preschoolers found that: (1) preschoolers with externalizing disorders had families who were more likely than comparison families to have at least one type of negative characteristic; and (2) family characteristics were…

This article presents an overview of the definitional and boundary issues of the term "school violence" as used in research applied prevention programs and provides an overview of what is known about the occurrence of violent and related high-risk behaviors on school campuses. (Contains extensive references.) (Author/CR)

Aggressive and violent behaviors are increasing among today's students. Some children maintain consistently high levels of aggressiveness that affect them academically and socially. Abundant technology exists for assessment and intervention, and it should be used on a schoolwide basis as part of early intervention. The paper describes two types of…

Research has uncovered a large number of risk factors that can place a child at risk for showing severe antisocial and aggressive behavior and to be diagnosed with conduct disorder. In this paper, recent research is outlined that has organized these risk factors into distinct pathways, each involving somewhat distinct causal processes, through…

Multi-component interventions for conduct disorder target several contexts of a child's life (e.g., both home and school environments) and are generally more effective than single-component behavioral interventions. Whether the multi-component approach is cost-effective remains an unanswered question. This article analyzes two decades of data from…

Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a common clinical problem in children and adolescents. Oppositionality and associated types of aggressive behavior are among the most common referral problems in child psychiatry. Grouped among the disruptive behavior disorders, ODD is frequently comorbid with other psychiatric conditions and often precedes…

Adolescents with substance use and conduct disorders have high rates of aggression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), all of which have been characterized in part by impulsivity. Developing measures that capture impulsivity behaviorally and correlate with self-reported impulsivity has been difficult. One promising behavioral…

This article highlights the inclusion of Mode Deactivation Therapy as a treatment modality for families in crisis. As an empirically validated treatment, Mode Deactivation Therapy has been effective in treating a wide variety of psychological issues. Mode Deactivation Therapy, (MDT) was developed to treat adolescents with disorders of conduct…

Objective: Prenatal smoking is robustly associated with increased risk of conduct problems in offspring. Observational studies that provide detailed phenotypic description are critical for generating testable hypotheses about underlying processes through which the effects of prenatal smoking may operate. To this end, we use a developmental…

This paper discusses the results of a study that investigated youth and adolescent psychosocial variables associated with community exclusion and whether there are consistent pathways of exclusion associated with those psychosocial variables or clusters of variables. The investigators obtained a complete set of demographic data on 35 adolescents…

The present study was directed at evaluating the relationship between ADHD, ODD/CD, and other diagnoses in children who exhibit aggressive behavior. Six hundred eighteen children (436 boys and 182 girls), ages 9 to 13 participated in the project. Two hundred eight children (164 boys, 44 girls) were diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity…

This article first delineates observations and recommendations of an interdisciplinary group that addressed the issue of school aggression and violence; and then presents recommendations for developing and implementing a systematic response to aggression and violence in schools. Also provided is a list of resources on effective practices in…

A study evaluated the effectiveness of progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) as a proactive single-component aggression-reduction intervention for 24 students (ages 6- 9) classified as having emotional disabilities in a day school/treatment program. Students also had histories of aggressive behavior. Results supported PMR as a proactive short-term…

Investigated whether earliest school recollections (ESRs) diagnostic approach can reveal current attitude toward being mainstreamed of violent and assaultive youth. Examined current student behavior assessments of violent and assaultive youth (n=60) who previously attended specialized day-treatment facility to determine mainstreaming success.…

Use of anabolic steroids is believed to increase the odds of violent antisocial behavior, thus posing risks to consumers and the general public. Some research shows the danger of steroids in inducing severe adverse psychiatric effects. Certain lawyers use this abuse to plead insanity for their clients. (SM)