Week 4: ODD/CD, Causes, Maintenance & Treatment Flashcards
Heritability
Adoption and twin studies indicate that 50% or more of the variance in antisocial behavior is hereditary
Prenatal Factors and Birth
Complications
Pregnancy and birth factors
- Low birth weight
- Malnutrition (possible protein deficiency) during pregnancy
- Lead poisoning
- Mother’s use of nicotine, marijuana, and other substances during pregnancy
- Maternal alcohol use during pregnancy
This forms a Diathesis-Stress relationship
Some kids are more vulnerable than others
Genotype x Maltreatment Interaction in the Development of Antisocial Behavior
Childhood maltreatment is universal risk factor for antisocial behavior
- 50% increased risk for boys to develop CD, Antisocial Personality, and to become violent offenders (esp early life abuse)
- But most boys who are maltreated do not develop severe antisocial behavior
- It may be that vulnerability to adversities is conditional, depending on genetic factors
MAOA
MAOA is an enzyme that metabolizes neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine (makes them inactive)
- Low MAOA activity has been linked to aggression
- Individual differences in MAOA activity linked to a particular gene
Genotype x Maltreatment Interaction in the Development of Antisocial Behavior
MAOA Study
Hypotheses
- Combination of low-MAOA activity and abuse leads to heightened antisocial behavior problems
- MAOA activity moderates the association between abuse and later conduct problems
- The association between abuse and conduct problems will be present only for children who have low MAOA activity
Sample
-Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study
-1,037 children
-52% males, only used in this study
-Assessed at ages 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 18, and 21 and was virtually intact (96%) at age 26 years
This increases is external validity as if there were differences between those that dropped out and those that did not, might wind up with a non representative sample. This did not happen.
Strengths
-Representative general population sample
-Ascertained antisocial outcomes rigorously
-Psychiatric information collected from multiple informants
-Criminal records
-Well‐characterized adversity histories btw age 3‐11:
-8% severe maltreatment
-More than one indicator of maltreatment (e.g., retrospective report of physical or
sexual abuse when participants are adults)
-28% probable maltreatment (1 indicator of maltreatment)
-64% no maltreatment
There was a
MAIN EFFECT of Childhood maltreatment: more = more antisocal behavior
There was no main effect of MAOA activity
There was an INTERACTION EFFECT between MAOA and child maltreatment. Those with low MAOA showed more antisocial behavior when there was abuse than those without
Research ethics
If researchers find abuse in kids they have to report it
In studies they will often not directly ask about abuse
They asked about parenting style and used this as a surrogate for abuse
(I think this sucks ass)
Parenting and Disruptive Behavior
Problems
Caspi et al. examined associations between maltreatment and
antisocial behavior
-Maltreatment is a risk factor for disruptive behavior problems and other types of psychopathology
-Negative parenting behaviors that do not constitute abuse are also associated with disruptive behavior problems (it is still serious, even if you do not reach levels that would be classed as abuse)
Operant Conditioning as treatment/maintenance
Keep in mind, reinforcers are personal. It wont be positive reinforcement if the child does not like the thing he is being give.
Social Information Theory
A series of cognitive steps that take a person from situation to action
Social information processing problems 1 What do I pay attention to? (encoding) 2 What does it mean? (interpretation) 3 What can I do? (response search) 4 What will I do? (response decision) 5 How well did I do it? (enactment)
Social Information Theory: Encoding
No knowledge about encoding and agression
Social Information Theory: Interpretation
Hostile attribution bias
- Did the other kid mean to do it?
- Classmate bumps into you at the water fountain, assumes it was deliberate and an attack
- Very robust evidence linking hostile attribution bias and aggressive behavior (more than 40 studies)
Children with aggressive behavior problems are more likely to think the other child did it on purpose
Social Information Theory: Response Search
Response Search
- What could I do?
- Children who are aggressive generate fewer responses
- Generate more aggressive and fewer prosocial strategies
Social Information Theory: Response Decision
Evaluate response on a number of different dimensions
Outcome expectancies – what will happen if I do this?
-Children who are aggressive are more likely to think that good things will happen if they use aggressive strategies
-They are less likely to think that good things will happen if they use prosocial strategies
Self-efficacy – how well can I carry out this response?
-Children who are aggressive perceive themselves as being very able to carry out those behaviors
Response Decision
- What will I actually do?
- Children who are aggressive pick aggressive strategies
Aggressive kids choose aggressive actions because
1) Generate more aggressive strategies
2) Evaluate them more positively
3) Choose them
Social Information Theory: Enactment
Carry out the response
- How well can you actually do it?
- Can children with aggressive behavior problems carry out other types of responses?
Very little work examining this issue
How do aggressive patterns develop in children?
Parents
- Mothers of aggressive boys also show the hostile attribution bias
- Parents may reinforce or approve of behaviors
- May see aggression as a competent response to peer provocation
