Behaviour disorders in children and adolescents

Behaviour disorders in children are common, particularly in boys, and cause significant social, academic and personal impairment. Young children frequently recover from mild forms, but severe early-onset conduct disorder is persistent and very costly to the individual, their family and society. The causes are multifactorial and the intervention is psychosocial and, in older children, needs to be complex. Hyperkinetic disorder is an early-onset biologically-based disturbance of attention, concentration and motor activity that causes pervasive impairment of function. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a broader concept including children with milder and less pervasive difficulties. Treatment is multidisciplinary and usually involves medication, typically a stimulant. Untreated, the likely outcomes are poor academic performance, conduct disorder and substance misuse. The long-term benefits of medication are less clear.