The estimated prevalence of a conduct disorder in the U.S is 2-12% between the ages of 5-17 years of age, also, the disorder is more common in boys than girls. This is reflected in the case because it was noted that David’s mischievous behavior became more prevalent when he hit puberty at the age of 11. From looking at the biological causes of the disruptive behavior disorder, conduct disorder, it was found that boys who are highly active and emotional early in life seem to become more aggressive in their later years. In David’s case it is clear that he was an overly active child, and grew to very aggressive The violent behavior may also be a result of the amounts of neurotransmitters in the brain, those include: norepinephrine, dopamine, …show more content…
He was described as an introvert for the majority of his life, but he began associating with older kids in middle school and was expected of smoking cigarettes and sniffing glue with them. In this case, it does not seem that David suffers from any maltreatment, poverty, and/or cultural issues. In order to initiate this treatment plan for David, I believe that interviews would be the most appropriate start. These interviews should include David himself, his parents, school officials, and possibly his older sister. From these interview the following information should be gathered: David’s cognitive, emotional, and social development, any ongoing risk factors that are still attributing to the disorder, and a history of David’s symptoms. The National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (structured interview) will most likely be used if there are not any time constraints, however, if there are an unstructured interview will work just as fine. Within these interviews rating scales (Child Behavior Checklist, Teacher Report Form, Conners Rating Scales) for both the parents and the teacher will be used to measure the degree of each symptom. Following the interview, a set of behavioral