Conduct Disorders and Family Characteristics in School Children

By their behavior, human beings either succeed in achieving social integration or reveal the symptoms of some pathology. Objective: To determine family characteristics of schoolchildren with conduct disorders (CD). Methods: Prospective transversal study, with a descriptive and analytical scope, carried out from June 10th to July 12th 2013. The sample is made up of 235 schoolchildren registered for the 2012/2013 academic year in schools in Parakou. Parent-child relations were evaluated using the parental acceptance and rejection scale of Rohner and Khaleque in several dimensions. Results: Of the 235 schoolchildren considered, 44 had an exclusive CD, giving a prevalence rate of 18.7%. Slight CD stood at 38.6% while severe cases stood at 9.1%; sex-ratio for CD was 1.31; 40.9% of the children presenting these disorders were aged 10 years. 38.6% of them had made satisfactory progress in school; 15.9% and 13.6% of these children with CD “almost never” received any affection from their fathers and mothers respectively. None of the concerned children was “almost never” a subject of hostility-aggression. When indifference-neglect was at the least, we found 59.1% for the father and 56.8% for the mother. The “almost never” of undifferentiated rejection from the mother did not bring about any case of CD. Family communication was bad for 80.6% of sane children and 95.4% of children with CD. CD was correlated with lay private/confessional school (p=0.042). Conclusion: In our study, the attachment scheme for children with conduct disorders seemed rather disorganized. Globally, mothers seemed to have left a negative sentiment. CD occurs in specific environmental and family bases. There is a need for further studies and the development of appropriate strategies for effective prevention.